


The Interview

by Cornerverse



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien balances the line between very oblivious and extremely aware, Bee!Kagami, Chloé is a fucking nerd and I'm having too much fun, Dragon!Chloe, F/F, F/M, Good Chloé Bourgeois, I tagged her y'all knew it was coming, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Tiger!Juleka, a little swearing as a treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23276197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerverse/pseuds/Cornerverse
Summary: Adrien was very used to interviews. Though Nathalie did always remind him of the rules beforehand. Be honest, yet kind and professional.But when opportunity strikes, well, he would stick to those rules. He just smiled at Nadja Chamack and let the cards fall where they may.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant
Comments: 311
Kudos: 2910





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I could be working on literally any of my unfinished projects but no I'm posting this at 3:52 in the morning. Fuck it.

Adrien was very used to interviews. Though Nathalie did always remind him of the rules beforehand. Be honest, yet kind and professional.

But when opportunity strikes, well, he would stick to those rules. He just smiled at Nadja Chamack and let the cards fall where they may.

“So,” Nadja began. “Tell us about your new coworker, Lila Rossi. I hear the two of you are pretty close!”

“Not wildly so,” Adrien said. “We’re classmates and coworkers. But I can’t honestly say that I know that much about her as a person.”

The glimmer in Nadja’s eye was familiar. It was the look of a reporter who found a lead on a story.

“Interesting you say that,” Nadja said. “Most of us have been wondering why a girl with no experience or celebrity status was chosen to model with you. Talk started flying when it was revealed that she was your classmate. People are assuming you had asked your father to help out a friend with her career!”

“Honestly no,” Adrien said, quietly smiling at how Nadja had commented on how Lila was an unknown. “Even I’m not sure how it happened. Lila asked to come over to my place so I could help tutor her. While she was there, she ran into my father and somehow struck up a conversation. Perhaps she asked about being a model and my father generously offered to help out what he assumed was a friend. Though if I’d known he would do that, I would’ve asked before about giving the spot to another friend of mine, Juleka Couffaine.”

“A friend or a ‘friend’?” She wondered.

“While Juleka’s great, we’re not into each other like that,” he said. “But despite being new to modeling, she’s very good at it! One of the easiest models I’ve ever had to work with. While she was a bit nervous at first, our photoshoot turned out great! I look forward to working with her again!”

“Which shoot was this?” She asked. “The only one we’ve seen you do with any girls recently have been with Lila.”

“This one wasn’t directly for the Agreste Brand,” he admitted. “Another friend of mine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, recently put up a website for her commissions. Originally I was supposed to just give Juleka tips and help out with the photography work, since I have plenty of experience. But since Marinette has ties to the Agreste Brand, there wasn’t any harm in letting me be in front of the camera for her.”

“Ties to the Agreste Brand?” She repeated. “What exactly do you mean?”

“Marinette has gotten a bit of attention recently,” he explained. “She won a design contest my father put together, and Audrey 'Style Queen’ Bourgeois loved her designs so much that she offered Marinette an internship on the spot! And while Jagged Stone isn’t a big name in fashion, he’s still a big name. He commissioned Marinette to design his album cover, along with a few outfits. So did Clara Nightengale, after we worked with her for her "Miraculous” music video! Between all that, it’s no wonder my father approved enough to let me model for her!”

He could hear the whispers and reactions of the studio audience. Though he would have had to be transformed as Chat Noir to make out what they were saying exactly, he had an idea. They were interested, but not yet sold.

Nadja herself had a somewhat dumbstruck expression. He knew that she knew Marinette as well, even if her professionalism as a reporter kept her from mentioning it at the moment. But he had a feeling she was clever enough to find a way to compliment her anyway.

"That’s quite a few accomplishments,” Nadja said. “I didn’t realize Marinette was so busy!”

“Oh, that’s just the tip of the iceberg!” Adrien said, glad that the conversation was being directed somewhere good. “That’s just what she does for her career. She also does plenty of other things. Like helping out at her family’s bakery, babysitting some kids, being our class president and organizing our events. She also helps out all of our friends with whatever she can, and can put together complicated plans to make sure we’re all happy. There’s a reason we call her our "Everyday Ladybug”! She always saves our day!“

"She sounds like quite a girl,” she said. “The way you go on about her makes it sound like she’s more than just a friend!”

Internally, Adrien was frowning. What was Nadja’s obsession with romance? First Chat and Ladybug, then Lila, and Juleka, and now Marinette.

To be fair, he had been laying it on a little thick. It was just that he’d realized how much damage Lila intended to cause, so he had decided to derail her spotlight in favor of reminding everyone how amazing Marinette was. Because for all the lies Lila could make up about herself or Marinette, in the end, Marinette was the one who had the actual skill to back it up.

Wait. He hadn’t responded yet. Fuck!

“She’s, uh, just a friend,” Adrien said. “I don’t know who she’s interested in, but they’d be crazy if they didn’t fall in love with her back!”

Why did he feel something he could only describe as “a disturbance in the force?”

* * *

Out of all classmates he thought might be at his throat the next day, he didn’t expect Juleka. Partly because of her shy nature, but mostly because he didn’t expect anyone other than Lila to want him dead.

“I’m going to kill you!” Juleka growled. “Then I’m going to revive you, thank you, and then kick your ass!”

“That’s valid, but why?” Adrien wondered.

“You mentioned her in the interview!” Rose explained. “A few modeling agencies were interested in someone who modeled with you! Her email has been flooded with offers!”

“Speaking of emails,” Alya interrupted. “You owe my girl an apology for the same thing.”

Marinette gave him a tired look. It was halfway between a glare and an amused smile. Which really reminded him of Ladybug and made his heart skip a beat but no this was Marinette not Ladybug and any romantic feelings were just him having his hang ups and projecting and-

Damn it he wasn’t responding again. Why did thoughts of Marinette send his brain on a tangent?

“Sorry?” Adrien offered.

“I-It’s fine,” Marinette said. “Well, now it is. Last night the whole site crashed. Thankfully Alya and Max helped me get it back up. But I had to make a large disclaimer about how I’m one person so it’s first come, first serve with limited openings now.”

“Hope your potential customers weren’t too mad,” he said.

“A-a few were,” she admitted. “Most told me I should be charging more.”

“You should,” Chloé commented. “I know both my mother and Gabriel would be appalled to see you lowballing your skills like that. Speaking of, how much would I need to bribe you to jump to the front of the commission line?”

“You want Marinette to make you something?” Alya asked, skepticism obvious.

“She’s proven her worth and is insanely popular right now,” she pouted.

“You’re welcome and also sorry,” Adrien said.

“I get it,” Marinette said. “You know, if you continue on your attempts to be nicer, you might qualify for the 'friends and family plan’. Which means your commission will be considered a personal project instead of work. It also gets the discounted price of paying for the cost of materials instead of the full price.”

“I have standards,” Chloé replied. “If I’m going to continue with this 'being nice’ thing, I’m not doing it just to get perks from you. Also, that whole "only pay the cost of materials” thing might be nice for you peasants, but I’m not that cheap. You’re getting industry standard payment and you’re not allowed to complain.”

While she had insulted them, it was progress. Adrien counted it as a win. And Marinette did seem a little proud, even if she still found that ‘accept the outrageous amount of money’ thing to be a headache.

"Hey guys! What’re you talking about?”

The only reason Adrien didn’t jump over a desk at the sound of her voice was because Lila already had a hold on his arm. He debated on if he could get away with judo flipping her “out of fear and panic”, but it seemed to be too late for that. Maybe next time.

Not that he wanted a next time. If Lila could stop clinging to him all the time it’d be great.

“Adrien had an interview last night,” Alya said.

“Oh right, you mentioned that,” Lila grinned. “How’d it go? I would’ve watched it, but I was far too busy on a video call with Prince Ali. We had some complications on the fundraiser for our charity that we needed to iron out.”

“It was great!” Rose said. “He mentioned that time he worked with Juleka, and now she’s getting so many offers!”

“I’m not even sure if I should take any,” Juleka said. “I mean, that shoot worked out, but…”

“You should do it,” Adrien said. “I meant everything I’ve said in the interview. Though hopefully you choose one of the companies my father is associated with. Then we can work together!”

Oh boy. Lila didn’t like that. She might be good as masking her expression, but the nails digging into Adrien’s arm were a sure indication of her mood.

“He also mentioned Marinette’s website,” Chloé said. “Apparently the site crashed from how many commissions she’s been getting!”

The not-so-friendly grin that she gave Lila was enough for Adrien to know exactly what she was doing. And while he’d usually tell her to be nicer, well, technically she was. Though the nails in his arm were starting to hurt.

He tried to subtly pull his arm free, but the just made Lila adjust her grip. It wasn’t subtle enough, as everyone seemed to notice and look concerned. Though while Marinette and Chloé looked concerned for him, the others were concerned for her.

"You okay girl?” Alya asked. “You’ve got kind of a death grip on Sunshine’s arm there.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Lila said, barely releasing her grip. “I was just lost in thought trying to, well. I’m curious about if the interviewer asked about me, since we just did that photoshoot together! But I didn’t want to sound like I was, you know, begging for him to promote me on his interview.”

While Marinette glared at Lila’s subtle implication, Juleka actually raised an eyebrow at it. Good. Looked like someone else might be catching on.

“Nadja did ask a little,” Rose said. “But I think Adrien was the focus.”

“Of course he was,” Chloé scoffed. “After all, he was the one being interviewed. Not you. Though the interviewer did ask how some unknown ended up modeling with Adrien freaking Agreste!”

“Anyway,” Adrien said, cutting off Lila’s attempt to lie about being 'somebody’. “Interviews can always go off topic. Half of last night’s was spent questioning me about my love life!”

“Your love life?” Lila asked. “Oh no! I hope there weren’t any rumors about us dating! I wouldn’t want all of Paris to know about my love life!”

“Don’t worry,” Marinette said with a slightly-too-cheery smile. “Nadja just seems to have a problem with digging into people’s lovelives. Adrien clarified that you’re not together.”

“Exactly!” Rose added. “The interviewer also asked if Adrien was dating Juleka. Which is completely impossible! Not because Juleka isn’t wonderful and beautiful but because she’s very very gay. So she wouldn’t be interested.”

“Maybe if there was a gender swap Akuma,” Alya mused. “Not to jinx it, but if there’s going to be an Akuma can we have that one? I want to see how hot I’d look as a dude.”

“Bet you anything I’d look hotter,” Chloé said.

“While I’m sure Adrien would make a pretty girl,” Juleka said, putting an arm around Rose. “I love my girlfriend too much to be swayed.”

“That’s just so sweet,” Lila said. “And I’m glad that Adrien got to clarify that you’re all just friends.”

For some reason, she made sure to aim her grin at Marinette. Who returned the look with a glare. If it hadn’t been for Miss Bustier walking in, Adrien wasn’t sure he could stop Marinette from jumping Lila.

Well, he could hold her back. Possibly. But he wouldn’t really feel like trying.

* * *

When everyone went to lunch, Adrien felt himself being dragged off. Unfortunately, it was Lila doing the dragging. She pulled him into an empty classroom before fixing him with a venomous glare.

“What happened to our deal?” Lila demanded.

“I’m not sure what you mean?” Adrien replied.

“She’s back in school,” she said. “You’re supposed to be my ‘friend’, aren’t you?”

“As long as you stop trying to hurt my friends,” he said. “I don’t think parading that photoshoot around like you won me over is good behavior. Besides, unlike you, all I’ve said is the truth.”

“Sure,” she scoffed. “You do realize I spent class watching your little interview in the back? I know exactly what you said.”

“And I’m right,” he said. “I don’t know anything about you. I don’t know what shows you like or your favorite color, or any other basic thing you should know about a friend. Even if you told me, I’d still have to take it with a grain of salt. Hell, with all the lies you’ve told, I don’t even know if you’re actually from Italy!”

“Obviously I’m not lying about that,” she said.

“Well how would I know?!” he exclaimed. “I might’ve made a deal to not expose you if you fixed the mess you caused, but I’m not going to lie to protect you or help you hurt people I care about. And I’m certainly not going to ignore my friends in favor of you. So if you want any sort of friendship here, then you’re going to have to shape up and be decent for once.”

Not wanting to discuss this further, Adrien spun on his heel and walked out. He was planning on finding somewhere to cool down, but as soon as he was out the door, someone else grabbed his hand and dragged him off. Though considering this time it was Marinette, he didn’t mind nearly as much.

After dragging him around a corner, she looked back down the hall. Adrien spared a glance too, seeing Lila walk out of the classroom. She looked around, trying to find him, but eventually stormed off in the direction of the cafeteria.

“A-are you okay?” Marinette asked.

“Yeah,” Adrien said. “How much did you hear?”

“Most of it,” she admitted. “After everything Lila’s done, I wasn’t going to let her get you alone if I could help it. And I know Alya’s going to be upset about me ‘not trusting her’ because she doesn’t realize that you shouldn’t trust Lila but you’re more important than playing along with her games and-“

“I get it,” he said. “If I saw you two go off together, I’d probably follow too.”

“Right,” she nodded, blushing slightly for some reason. “But I heard you mention a deal with her? What are you talking about?”

“When she got you expelled,” he said. “I told her I’d keep quiet about what I knew if she made something up to get you unexpelled.”

“That’s… stupid,” she said. “I mean it’s sweet, but how can you be such an idiot? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because last time, I told you to take the ‘high road’,” he said. “I didn’t realize she’d get this dangerous. But I think you did. And you took my stupid advice anyway. I didn’t want to face you after finding out I was wrong. Either because you’d say ‘I told you so’ or I’d feel to guilty or-“

“That’s not your fault,” she sighed. “I should’ve said something back then. But you’re right. I knew she was at least planning on being dangerous. I just didn’t think she’d actually be able to follow through on her threat.”

“Threat?” he repeated.

“She-she said she’d turn everyone against me,” she admitted. “And it’s started working. You saw how quick everyone was to believe that I’d pushed her. Or stole her necklace.”

Well that was one hell of a punch in the face. Adrien’s hand tingled, itching to call upon a Cataclysm and break something. Possibly Lila herself.

For now though, he focused on Marinette. And how scared she was, even if she tried to hide it. Fuck. She could get Akumatized over this. For all he knew, this wasn’t the first time that happened. And boy did that make him circle back to his ‘Cataclysm Lila’ plan.

“No more secrets,” Adrien said. “And no more ‘high road’ either. We’re going to stick together and figure out a plan to take her down.”

“What about everyone else?” she asked. “What if they don’t want to listen to us?”

"Well then," he said, smiling softly at her. "It's you and me against the world, right?"

Why did that feel so familiar?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all begged me to make more of this so here we fuckin go! I'm going to try out a few new things because I don't want my 'Lila gets called the fuck out' stories to get too repetitive.

"I know I said 'it's you and me against the world'," Adrien said. "But I think we should start with putting together a team of sorts. Just seeing who we can get to believe us off the bat, you know?"

"I hate to say it," Marinette said. "But out of our classmates, I think the easiest to recruit is Chloé. She doesn't seem to be under Lila's spell. For whatever reason."

"I’m not sure how she knows,” he said. “I know she’s a little paranoid sometimes. So that combined with the fact that she actually knows a few of the celebrities Lila lied about. She could've figured it out."

"But so could others," she countered. "Everyone knows that I know Jagged. And Alya could ask Ladybug about Lila in an interview. Or- or Rose could talk to Prince Ali about that fake charity Lila claims to work on!"

"I think that's why they don't ask," he said. "I mean, look at all the things our classmates have accomplished. Especially you! Lila's lies don't sound so wild compared to all that."

"You have a point," she said. "Sometimes even I don't believe how wild my life has gotten lately."

"That said," he frowned. "I wonder why Ladybug hasn't contacted Alya herself. She didn't hesitate to call Lila out in front of me on that first day. Why not go to Alya first instead of waiting for Alya to ask?"

"Maybe she's scared?" She offered sheepishly. "After all, it did get Lila Akumatized that first time. And you did kinda get mad at her for it."

Wait. How did she know what happened?

Adrien reasoned that Marinette had probably been there in the park. After all, she'd never trusted Lila anyway. And she just proved that she was willing to follow them to keep him safe.

But that was another thing that made this his fault, didn’t it? At the time he’d thought Ladybug had been a bit harsh to yell at Lila like that. He hadn’t meant for her to stay quiet and let Lila keep putting herself in danger. He just thought that maybe Ladybug could’ve been calmer.

Now he knows that neither strategy worked. It wasn’t going to stop Lila. The best they could do is make sure no one else falls for her lies.

"Anyway!" Marinette said quickly. "Can you think of anyone else in class who might be on our side?"

"I was thinking Juleka," Adrien answered.

"Really?" She wondered. "She seemed pretty solidly on Lila's side."

"Maybe," he said. "But this morning Lila tried to make you look bad through what I said in the interview. When she did, she threw Juleka under the bus, since I promoted her too. I think Juleka noticed. It might be enough to make her listen."

"If we do convince Juleka," she mused. "Then she can talk to Rose. Even if Rose is skeptical, Juleka can convince her to clear it up by talking to Prince Ali. And I feel like I should be more salty about that, but you have a point. If Rose could be friends with Prince Ali, then it makes sense that the girl who travels with her ambassador mother might be friends with him. It's still a lie, but it makes sense that they didn't question it."

"And if we get them on board," he said, "we could also get Luka. I know he's not in our class, but more allies is a good thing. Plus it keeps Lila from ever getting to him."

"If we're bringing in people not in our class, then we should call in Kagami," She mused. "I know she doesn't like Lila. She might still be new to friendship, but she noticed how uncomfortable you are around Lila."

“Have you told her anything about Lila yet or…?” he wondered.

“Not really,” she said. “Honestly I like to forget she exists.”

“That’s fair,” he sighed. “Okay, lunch is almost over. After class we can gather everyone and meet somewhere.”

* * *

The meeting ended up taking place in Chloé’s hotel. As soon as Adrien had pulled her aside to ask about a meeting, she’d said ‘if this is about this morning then good!’, and immediately booked a table at the hotel’s restaurant.

Marinette had grabbed Juleka, though it was difficult to explain why without alerting Rose. After enough of Marinette waffling over an explanation, Juleka had smiled and told Rose it was probably about Luka. It got Rose to leave, even if it left Juleka confused over why they were now at a table with Chloé and Adrien.

Kagami had been the last to get there, only heading over after reading a text Adrien sent her. Thankfully there wasn’t too much waiting, as the hotel was a good midpoint between their schools. Then the group ordered their food, and settled in to talk.

“Finally,” Chloé sighed. “Now to discuss ‘Operation: Tear the Bitch Apart’!”

“We’re not calling it that,” Marinette groaned. 

“I’m… not sure why I’m here,” Juleka said.

“I had assumed it was to help me get more acquainted with Adrien’s friends,” Kagami admitted.

“No, we’re here about Lila,” Adrien said.

While Kagami’s expression switched to a cold glare at the mention, Juleka didn’t react as immediately. Though confused, she looked more concerned. Good.

“Is this about what she said this morning?” Juleka asked.

“Yes,” Adrien answered.

“What did she do now?” Kagami asked.

“Well-“ Chloé began, but was cut off by a look from Marinette.

Reaching across the table, Marinette took Juleka’s hands. She gave her a look, so soft and pleading.

“I know everyone thinks I’m crazy,” Marinette said. “But Lila is lying. About a lot of things. And it’s not just-just celebrity gossip. You saw how she reacted to Adrien just helping me. Her comment about ‘using him to promote my career’. And everything that happened when I was expelled… she’s trying to turn you guys against me.”

“That’s… a lot to take in,” Juleka admitted. “But you’re right about this morning. It felt off. And I guess the rest of you agree with her.”

“Yeah,” Adrien said. “I’ve known Lila was lying for a while. But until recently I thought it was mostly harmless stuff. That and… no one believed Marinette. Why would they believe me?”

“What do you mean ‘no one believes Marinette’?” Kagami asked.

“They think she’s jealous,” Chloé said. “Which is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!”

“Jealous of what?” Adrien wondered.

No one answered him, but they all shared a look. Sometimes he wondered if all of his friends were secret telepaths. If so, they should at least be kind enough to clue in the one guy who couldn't read minds. 

“Anyway!” Marinette said quickly. “Testimony time! All of you take turns telling her about Lila!”

“I’ll go first since it’s a lot,” Adrien said. “So, first off, after the whole ‘Ladybug’s bff’ thing, she tried to convince me that she was a Fox hero called Volpina. Ladybug herself showed up and called Lila out on that, and Lila got upset and Akumatized.”

“Which is the Volpina we saw,” she said.

“Yeah,” he said. “When Lila came back from her ‘trip’, I tried talking to her about the lies, since I thought it was a ‘I’m the new kid and want attention’ thing. And she got Akumatized again. And I figured it was best to not continue calling her out to, you know, not have that happen more times than it needed to.”

“Don’t want to make more of a mess for Ladybug,” Chloé mused. “That’s usually my job.”

“Unlike Lila, you clean up your messes,” Marinette said. “Both with this ‘being nicer’ thing and as a Hero.”

While Chloé visibly preened at that, Adrien couldn’t help but realize something. Other than Juleka, this was a sort of ‘benched Heroes’ club. Queen Bee, Ryuko, Multimouse and Aspik. True, he was still secretly a hero. But he wondered if he and Marinette were allowed to talk about their short times with the Mouse and Snake. If only because he kinda wanted to see her with her hair in buns again and didn’t know how to ask otherwise.

“Back to Lila,” Adrien said, refocusing. “A while after that, Lila lied to my father’s assistant Nathalie and my bodyguard to get into my room, even when I told her that we should just go study at the library. Then she took a selfie of her kissing me and sent it to my entire contact list.”

“I remember that picture,” Juleka mused quietly.

“And that brings us to when Marinette was expelled,” he said. “She purposely planted that evidence and faked falling down the stairs. The only reason she retracted the accusations is because I told her I’d expose her if she didn’t. The deal was supposed to get her to leave Mari alone completely, but I've noticed the subtle jabs and decided to do something about it. Which is why I derailed the interview to talk about Marinette and her connections, which is how she knows that Lila is lying.”

“Since he’s done, I’ll talk,” Chloé said. “I have several reasons to know that Lila’s a joke. The biggest one being Ladybug. I know just how much Ladybug protects her identity. We had a long talk when she told me I couldn't be Queen Bee again because my identity was compromised. She told me that despite how much it sometimes hurts her relationships with her friends and family, she can't tell them her identity because it would risk them getting hurt. So when Lila comes in and tells me that she's Ladybug's best friend, tells everyone that, encourages Alya to post it on her blog where all of Paris can see it.... Ladybug wouldn't let her do that."

“As for me,” Kagami said. “I haven’t really talked to Lila much. But I see how she makes Adrien uncomfortable. At first, I thought I felt jealous of the way she touched him. Lately I’ve realized it is not jealousy, as I don’t feel that way when others do that.”

Adrien had never seen Juleka angry. It was up in the air how she’d react. They didn’t expect her to pick up the silverware and slam it into her sandwich.

“I think ‘Operation: Tear the Bitch Apart’ is a good name,” Juleka said.

“Told you,” Chloé said.

“I assume this is an actual plan?” Kagami asked.

“First we’re gathering allies,” Adrien said. “Seeing who all we can get to believe us without pulling all our punches.”

“Speaking of punches,” Marinette frowned. “Juleka, I know you’re mad, but keep up appearances around Lila for now.”

“She’s been lying to us,” Juleka growled. “And trying to hurt you two. And-and Rose! Do you know how much this is going to hurt Rose when she finds out? Don’t you dare ask me to keep this from her!”

“We’re not,” Adrien said. “We told you. We’re gathering allies. You can bring Rose and your brother on board.”

“Are there others we could bring?” Kagami asked. “Marinette, you mention your friend Alya a lot. Is she not a good candidate?”

“I… want her to be on my side,” Marinette sighed. “But she’s… stubborn. She already fell for Lila’s lies, and whenever I try to tell her, she just rolls her eyes and says I need to ‘stop being so jealous’.”

While Juleka winced at that, having once been convinced of that lie, Kagami seemed very overcome with rage. In seconds she had stood up and had her fencing saber at the ready. Did she have that when she came in?

“Let me talk to her,” Kagami said.

“Not if you’re going to stab her,” Marinette said, eyeing the weapon. “She may be a bit bullheaded, but she’s trying to help.”

“I won’t kill her over that,” she said. “If anything, I’d kill Lila. But I believe I have a perspective that will make her listen. And I do not hesitate.”

“Alright,” she nodded. “The rest of us should try to get others on our side.”

“I can try with Sabrina,” Chloé said. “She’s been a little too caught up in Lila’s stories. But I might be able to talk some sense into her.”

“Mari and I can try with everyone else,” Adrien said. “We can create a groupchat to discuss things.”

They’d been about to say something else when there was the sound of screaming outside. That, accompanied with the ding from every phone in the area, was an indication of an Akuma. Adrien found himself making an excuse and running off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's toss in an Akuma just for fun.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some new things this time around! And yes, I am a nerd and so is Chloé.

Ladybug griped the small box in her hand as she swung across the rooftops. This Akuma had been tricky so far, and they’d needed help. A good bit of help. She wasn’t sure if it was just her instincts or the earlier meeting that made her think of her strategy, but she knew exactly which two Miraculous to choose.

Only problem was with the ‘who’. She had an idea on that, but it was also a little tricky. One Miraculous was given to Chat for him to hand out. The other, she was taking back to the hotel.

Naturally, Chloé was out on her balcony. As soon as Ladybug landed, she dragged the blonde back into the room.

“Yes!” Chloé grinned, practically squealing in excitement. “Time for Queen Bee to shine!”

“I already told you,” Ladybug said. “You can’t be Queen Bee again.”

“Then why are you here?” she wondered, enthusiasm dropping.

“Because I have a solution,” she said. “You’re a great asset to the team, but your identity is compromised. Just because you can’t be Queen Bee doesn’t mean you can’t be a Hero again.”

“A different Miraculous,” she mused.

“Chloé Bourgeois,” she addressed, holding out the box. “This is the Miraculous of the Dragon.”

While Chloé took the box, she had this expression on her face. Contemplative. A little sad as well. Was she going to demand that she get the Bee anyway?

“I’m guessing Kagami has Pollen, right?” Chloé asked. “Since this one was hers and her identity was compromised like mine.”

“Chat’s delivering the Bee to her,” Ladybug confirmed.

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll be the Dragon on one condition.”

“What do you want?” she wondered.

“I know I can’t be Queen Bee,” she said. “But I want to be able to talk to Pollen again.”

“I think we can work something out,” she nodded.

With that, Chloé opened the box and put on the necklace. A flash of light, and Longg appeared. He seemed a little confused over the new holder, but quickly got with the program.

“Greetings,” Longg said. “I can assume Ladybug has already filled you in on my abilities?”

“I have an idea,” Chloé said.

“Good,” he nodded. “Then, the transformation phrase is ‘Longg, Bring the Storm’.”

“Longg, Bring the Storm!”

Within a flash, Chloé was transformed. [Her new costume was more complicated than any she’d seen before.](https://cornerverse.tumblr.com/post/613599253355495424/at-what-point-does-a-reference-become-cosplay) Very complicated. She seemed to be wearing a tank top and shorts, both black with gold trim, and a golden belt with the dragon's element symbol on the 'buckle'. She had what could only be described as a 'long vest' over that. It was red, but the back had the image of a dragon curled around the element symbol and down the back, the tip of its tail matching with the end of the vest, and a little tuft of fur attached to the end of the "tail".

Her hands had short gloves with red trim, and gold-tipped claws on the end. Her shoes were similarly colored. The toes being similar to Chat Noir's boots, though with gold Dragon claws instead of silver cat paws. She was wearing socks and some kind of arm covering under the gloves, but they were asymmetrical. The left arm stopped at the wrist while the right went up to her bicep, and the socks were reversed, with the right being at her ankle and the left at her thigh.

Finally, her hair had been braided. And from her head were a pair of horns and dragon-like ears.

"Why does your outfit look like that?" Ladybug asked.

"I wanted something other than the skintight suit," Chloé shrugged. "If Hawkmoth and Mayura can look like they're going to Dark Prom, then I can choose something besides the skintight supersuit!"

"You have a name picked out?" She wondered, making a reminder to ask Tikki about redesigns later.

"Alchemy," she answered.

"Alchemy?" She parroted.

"Dragons are a popular symbol in Alchemy stuff," she said.

As much as Ladybug wanted to ask how the hell Chloé knew anything about that subject, there was an Akuma to deal with.

* * *

Alchemy felt a spike of jealousy through her when she saw Kagami. It burned through her, creating a pit in her stomach. She wanted to scream. To take the Bee Miraculous back and yell that it was hers.

She didn't, of course. But she wanted to. That brought the question to her mind: was this just her being selfish, or part of the Miraculous' Magic? Did Ladybug feel the same when she saw 'Mister Bug'? Did Chat feel that about Lady Noire?

She pushed it down. Queen Bee was gone. She was Alchemy now. The Dragon was hers. But... she wasn't going to let go of Pollen so easily.

[Kagami's outfit](https://cornerverse.tumblr.com/post/613665727684182016/to-accompany-the-dragonchlo%C3%A9-have-a), like hers, was more of an outfit than the skin tight supersuit. It looked a bit sporty. A yellow top with a high collar and 3/4 sleeves, black accents around the chest and arms, and a honeycomb shaped zipper down the front. The pants were like the top. Yellow with black accents, and only went to mid-calf.

"So," Chat Noir mused. "What's your new name?"

"Alchemy," she answered.

"Really?" He snickered. "You're such a nerd!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" She said.

"Sure," he said. "I'd brush off the color scheme as part of the Miraculous' costume. But that asymmetry is really on the nose."

"You recognized the subtle hints so who's really the nerd?" She deflected.

"Remind me, which one of us is in cosplay?" He teased.

"You'd make a decent Catwoman," she replied.

"Now is not the time!" Ladybug said, stepping between them.

"True," Kagami agreed. "Call me Mitsubachi, by the way."

"Glad to see you," Alchemy nodded. "So what's the plan?"

"Right," Ladybug sighed. "The Akuma calls herself Madame Electra. Obviously she has electric powers. I think she said something about her electricity bills so you know."

"We can't hit her," Chat said. "She keeps zapping us or just turning to straight electricity."

"So that's my job?" Alchemy guessed.

"Yes," Ladybug said. "You're pretty electric proof, especially in your Lighting Dragon form. If you can keep her still long enough for Mitsubachi to hit her with Venom, then we'll be able to find and destroy the Akumatized item."

"On it," Mitsubachi said.

With that, the quartet set out. Alchemy had an interesting time figuring out how to keep up with her weapon being different. Ladybug and Mitsubachi had the yoyo and spinning top acting as grappling hooks, and Chat's baton could be used to pole vault or launch himself. A sword was not helpful to get around.

Though after a few leaps, Alchemy found herself jumping higher and floating longer than the others. Seems like her Wind Dragon was low-key helping her. Not enough to fly through the air without fully activating it, but enough to keep up.

The Akuma was very.... electrifying. For lack of a better word. Her costume was all bright yellows and violets and blues. Her hair and dress, while having spiky designs, looked to be pure energy. She was also fast, zipping around through the street and blasting all electronics in the way.

Street lamps blew, cars shuddered off, phones short circuited. It was hard to tell if she was overloading them or draining the power. Thankfully, if she was draining it, she didn't seem to be getting more power of her own. Just in case, Alchemy was ready to throw herself into the fight.

"Lightning Dragon!"

Alchemy hadn't been ready for how that felt. Her body becoming pure lighting, energy. She was intangible, and it was easy to get a little lost. Spread herself too thin and forget that she was a person and not Magic itself.

Pulling herself together, both figuratively and literally, Alchemy reformed with her arms around Madame Electra. The Akuma struggled, but without being able to zap her opponent, she didn't have much strength.

"Venom!"

Mitsubachi leaped in, stinging Madame Electra's thigh. There was a spark and a scream as she was shocked, but she didn't go down. The Akuma, on the other hand, stopped struggling as she was frozen in place.

After making sure that the Akuma wasn't faking her paralysis, Alchemy let go and began inspecting her for the Akumatized item. She broke a bracelet and a necklace before finding it in the woman's left earring.

The Butterfly was quickly snapped up by Ladybug's yoyo. One Purification and Miraculous Cure later, and Madame Electra was a normal looking woman.

"You okay miss?" Chat Noir asked.

"I-I think," the woman shook her head. "I'm sorry. I just-"

"We understand," Mitsubachi said.

The woman stared at her. And then at Alchemy. Rolling her eyes, Alchemy offered a hand.

"We're the new Heroes," Alchemy said. "I'm Alchemy, and this is Mitsubachi."

"Pleased to meet you," the woman said.

"Anyway, we need to go," Ladybug said as Mitsubachi's Miraculous beeped.

A few more pleasantries and the quartet left. They ended up back at Chloé's balcony by the time Mitsubachi's transformation wore off. Alchemy dropped her own as well, just in time for Pollen to zip over and hug her face.

"My Queen!" Pollen exclaimed.

"Hey," Chloé laughed. "I missed you too."

"I don't want to rush you," Ladybug said. "But I need to get the Bee and Dragon back before I head home."

Nodding, Chloé let Pollen nuzzle her cheek again. She also reached out to pet the top of Longg's head, before handing over his Miraculous.

As Kagami handed over the Bee, Pollen disappeared. Chloé tried not to be sad. She'd see them both again. Hopefully soon.

"Before you go," Kagami spoke up. "Can you answer a few questions about Lila Rossi?"

Both Heroes glared at the mention. Chat actually let out an almost feral snarl.

"The first time I heard of Lila Rossi was her interview claiming to be my friend," Ladybug stated, clearly attempting to remain professional. "I confronted her and told her to stop lying. I will admit that I was a bit harsh in how I did it, but it needed to be done. After that, my only interaction with her has been any of her Akumatizations or when she was targeted by an Akuma."

"Any of her Akumatizations?" Chloé parroted. "I counted two? Volpina and Chameleon?"

"She was also Akumatized on Heroes' Day," Chat said. "She was the one who created that Illusion of an Akumatized Ladybug killing me, causing all the despair for Scarlet Moth to happen."

Well that was interesting. Chloé had assumed it was a new Akuma who had done that. But if Lila was here on Heroes' day, it meant she wasn't in Achu for months. While Chloé had figured the whole "staying with Prince Ali" thing was a lie, she thought Lila might have actually been out of the city. After all, how would she be able to skip that much school without either the school staff or her mother finding out?

"Anything else you can tell us?" Chloé wondered.

"Now that I think about it," Chat said, his frown deepening. "There was an incident with Oni-Chan. Er, sorry for bringing that up?"

"It is quite alright," Kagami nodded. "But I do know she was the cause of my Akumatization."

"That's not what I mean," he said. "When we were fighting you, Lila said she was too injured to run, so I carried her to get medical attention. There I realized her injury was fake. At the time I thought it was about getting attention. After all, everyone we personally carry off tends to get their fifteen minutes of fame. I thought she just wanted that without thinking of the consequences of her actions. Now though, after hearing about everything else she's done, I have to wonder if it was just about fame."

"Everything else?" Ladybug wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm guessing he wandered by Adrien or Marinette earlier," Chloé said.

"Uh, yeah," Chat nodded. "I helped get Adrien to safety and he asked me the same questions!"

Ladybug frowned at that. Probably wondering when, exactly, said saving happened.

"One more question," Kagami said. "Why have you not contacted the girl who posted Lila's interview, Alya Ceasaire?"

"It's... complicated," Ladybug sighed, guilt clear on her face. "I had hoped Lila would come clean on her own after I talked to her. Then I didn't hear about her for months, so I honestly forgot she existed. When I did find out, I wasn't sure what I could really do. Those who knew I wasn't her friend didn't get believed. I knew that if I showed up, she would likely say something else. Claim I was 'just trying to protect her', or 'we're having a fight and I wanted to hurt her' or something. I might be a Hero, but if people aren't willing to listen to their best friends, I wasn't sure what I could do. And if 'Ladybug' were to get involved past the initial warning, Hawkmoth might take notice."

She had a point. Though Chat still did give a hint of guilt. He was apparently feeling a lot of that today.

With that, the pair left. As did Kagami. And once more Chloé was left alone.

She decided on a long bubble bath. With a luxurious bath bomb. And scented candles.

Sinking into the hot water, she thought over how complicated their plan would get. Lila getting Akumatized if she found out was a given. And what most people didn't realize was that if Lila was to go after the classmates, she'd also be attacking all of the Heroes.

"This is going to be a fucking disaster!" Chloé groaned, sinking lower into the bubbles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things that are a constant with me: Chloé is a fucking nerd, and she also knows the identities.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gathering allies!

"Please tell me you had more luck than I did," Chloé sighed, dropping into the seat next to Marinette.

"Not really," Marinette said. "Any time I try to talk to Alya or Nino alone, suddenly Lila needs their help. Same with Mylene, and Ivan tends to stick by her. Nath seemed to not really care about the situation. I talked to Max, but he's convinced Lila's a pillar of honesty. Even asked Markov if Lila has lied, and he said no. No clue how that works but-"

"Because Lila's lies aren't as clear as you think," She replied. "A program is a little too black and white to realize what manipulation is. If she lied about physics or the symptoms of one of her many 'disabilities' he'd catch on. But unless Jagged himself directly says "I've never met Lila Rossi", then Lila's statement is inconclusive. Therefore, it's not technically a lie. And while you know you've never pushed Lila down the stairs, no one else but Lila would know if you did. So when she accuses you, it is not a lie unless we can prove it false through means other than your testimony. Again, not technically lying."

"How the hell do you know that?" She wondered.

"My dad's in politics," she deadpanned. "I know plenty about half-truths and technicalities."

"Right," she nodded. "Anyway, Max is still firmly on Lila's side. And Kim trusts Max too much. Alix wavered a bit, since she noticed I was so confused over Markov saying that Lila's not lying. I think she's realized that I truly believe that Lila's lying. But I don't think that's enough to bring her to our side just yet. Did you have any luck with Sabrina?"

Chloé glared at her. It seemed like a snarky reply was on the tip of her tongue. Instead she sighed, crossing her arms and dropping lower in her seat.

"It's my own fault, really," Chloé said. "I told Sabrina to try making friends other than me. Because as much as I care about her, we're bad for each other right now. We feed into each other's issues."

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked.

"You know how she is," she said. "She likes being bossed around. She thinks being useful to people makes her worthy of love. And you know how I am. I was raised to boss people around, and take advantage of people like her. We're a match made in hell."

"Oh," she said. "So the two of you on your own would just continue that. And since you're trying to be better, it can make you relapse into being a jerk."

"Exactly," she said. "I figured a way to help was to encourage her to make other friends. Healthy friendships. So that we can know how to recognize when we fall into old patterns. I expected her to try for you or maybe Mylene. But of course, there is someone else in class that likes to use people."

"Right," she nodded. "I knew she was following Lila around. I didn't think she'd stick to Lila over you."

"Helps that Lila knew I'd try and get her back," she muttered. "She told Sabrina that I would never truly let her go. That I'd eventually come and try to break up whatever friendship she tries to have. So when I try to tell her that Lila's a lying manipulative fuck..."

"Got it," she sighed. "Still. You had better luck than Adrien did. It's like Lila's superglued herself to his arm. He didn't have a chance to talk to anyone."

"At least we have Juleka trying to help him," she said. "No one can accuse her of being 'secretly in love with Adrien and oh so jealous'. And if Rose's little fits are anything to go by, it looks like she's convinced too."

That was true. Rose had been crying on and off all day. When asked, she said she'd read something sad. Most of the class assumed it was just a book, but a few knew it was likely an email from Prince Ali. Seems like the only thing keeping her from being Akumatized is Juleka reminding her that it would tip their hand too soon.

"I just hope Kagami has more luck than either of us," Marinette said.

* * *

While Kagami had never met Alya before, Marinette and Adrien had shown pictures of both her and the girl's boyfriend, Nino. It was easy to get out of her own class early to meet up with them when their school lets out.

She didn't approach at first, since the liar was with them. But as soon as the liar left, she got their attention. Thankfully they seemed to recognize her.

"Hello," Kagami said. "I have some things to discuss with you."

"Hey," Nino said. "You're Kagami, right? Adrien talks about you a lot."

"He tells me about you as well," she said. "As does Marinette. Despite her frustrations, she speaks highly of both of you."

"Frustrations?" Alya parroted.

Kagami took a breath. She was not going to hesitate and pretend that she's here about anything else. However, while the point of the conversation was confrontation, she was trying to not go straight to intimidating. Though the sword strapped to her back likely didn't help. 

"Marinette was venting her frustration with you not listening to her about Lila," Kagami explained.

"This again," Alya sighed. "Look, I know you've never met Lila, but she's a sweet girl! She just wants to be friends with Marinette. But Mari gets a bit jealous and possessive when it comes to Adrien. And she needs to stop."

"You are rather hypocritical," she stated.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" She demanded. "It's not like I'm jumping down the throat of every girl who tries to hit on my boyfriend!"

"No," she said. "But you did encourage Marinette's jealousy toward me. You supported the idea of sabotaging that game we were paired up for, just so that I wouldn't get a chance to interact with Adrien."

"Dude," Nino said, giving Alya a look. "That's not cool."

"That's different," Alya defended.

"How, exactly, is it different?" Kagami asked. "You encouraged Marinette to be jealous toward me, yet berate her for what seems to be jealously toward Lila. What is the difference?"

"Because you've been a jerk to Marinette," she said. "Adrien deserves better than-"

"Hold the hell up!" Nino interrupted. "That's so not okay!"

"Come on, Nino," she huffed. "Don't you want Marinette and Adrien to get together?"

"Look," he sighed, taking his hat off to run his hand through his hair. "Mari and Adrien are my friends. And as much as I'm rooting for them to get together, that's Adrien's choice. If he likes her back, fine. If he wants Kagami, that's cool too. Hell, he could decide to get hitched to Chloé for all I care! It's his choice and being a jerk to anyone he's interested in just because it's not Marinette isn't okay."

"That's... you have a point," she frowned.

"As do I," Kagami said. "Especially as you are judging me off something that has long been taken care of. I know I come off as cold, and while I can blame it on my lack of socialization, I am sorry. However, I have also apologized to Marinette. My issue with her was based on assumptions and misunderstandings that have since been cleared up. Adrien told me that something similar happened when he met Marinette?"

"Yeah," Nino said. "She thought he put gum on her seat and yelled at him."

Thankfully, Alya did look a little ashamed. Good. It meant that she was not incapable of learning. Stubborn, difficult, quick to jump to conclusions. But she can be talked to. 

"Fine," Alya sighed. "I'm sorry. I should've gotten to know you before judging you unfit for Adrien."

"And?" Nino prompted.

"And for ignoring that he has a choice," she sighed. "I just want them both to be happy, you know?"

"I understand," Kagami said. "I have had to learn a similar lesson. I am interested in Adrien. But if he chooses Marinette over me, I will support them. Marinette feels the same, as she has encouraged me to peruse Adrien as well. We are both trying to gain his attention, without sabotaging the other, and have agreed that we will remain friends, whatever his choice."

"Really?" Nino asked.

"If only she'd do that with Lila," Alya shook her head. "Wait. Do you think you could, you know, convince Mari to make up with her like you two did?"

"Unfortunately, no," Kagami said. "I am attempting to show you that Marinette can handle jealousy well when not encouraged to be petty. Because she and Adrien have told me about Lila's lies, and how you don't believe Marinette when she tells you."

"Adrien thinks she's a liar too?" Nino frowned.

"No way," Alya shook her head. "Adrien would've said something."

"He doesn't think you'd believe him," Kagami said. "You didn't believe Marinette. Because you think she's jealous. And he has no idea why she would be jealous, as he is unaware of her interest in him. As far as he knows, you are too far gone to just hear him out without sufficient evidence to back him up."

The couple seemed to contemplate this. Deciding to push it, Kagami continued.

"We are having a meeting," Kagami said. "Please, hear them out. Put aside the idea of jealousy and listen to what they have to say. If you are correct in your assumption that Marinette is simply jealous of Lila, then you can find a way to properly calm her fears by listening. But imagine how much worse it would be if you were wrong. If Lila is a liar, as Marinette said, and you continue to let her do as she pleases."

That got their attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Kagami vs. Alya is interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Don't let Chloé take over. Don't let Chloé take over!  
> Also Me: >:3c
> 
> This chapter got long. Debated on splitting it, but tbh it didn't feel right since it's all one scene.

One of the many perks of her dad owning a hotel, was that Chloé had plenty of meeting places to choose from.

Personal one on one confrontations were usually invited into her room.

Small gatherings, like yesterday, were done in the restaurant. A table in the corner when it's not too busy gives enough privacy.

But this? This many people talking about such sensitive subjects deserved the Boardroom.

There were several boardrooms on the first floor of the hotel. Usually used for business conferences. They were set up with a table, chairs, and a large screen to project information, controlled by a tablet Chloé currently held.

Right now, everyone was just making small talk and eating from the pile of food Chloé had ordered ahead of time. As she waited, she pretended not to notice Marinette slip a few cookies into her purse, or Adrien putting Camembert in his shirt pocket.

Those two had tried to be secretive. But Chloé knew the chances of there being two teenage boys with blonde hair, green eyes, that exact height and build, a tendency for puns and anime, and an allergy to feathers here in Paris. Marinette had been even easier in a way, once Chloé met Pollen and remembered that 'toy' Marinette had. From there, it had been easy to connect the dots. The only Heroes not in the room were Pegasus and Roi Singe, Max and Kim. Which was something to address later. 

A text on her phone told her that a certain surprise was set up, so Chloé got everyone's attention.

"So," Chloé began. "Welcome to the second meeting of 'Operation: Tear the Bitch Apart'!"

"I told you we're not calling it that," Marinette and Adrien chorused.

"If you have a better name, then say it," she rolled her eyes.

"Operation: Burn the Witch?" Luka suggested.

"Dramatic!" Rose said, almost smiling for the first time today.

"How have we never met before!" Chloé grinned at the rocker boy. "First order of business: convincing the non believers!"

"Did we join a cult?" Nino muttered.

"Look," Alya sighed. "I'm willing to listen. But things like 'Operation: Burn the Witch' and 'convincing the non believers!' Aren't really... helping."

"Trust me," Juleka said. "The dramatics are necessary.

"Naturally," Chloé grinned, tapping the tablet screen. "By the way, given the fact that I'd like to have a proper record for later, I'm recording the testimony. And on that note, Adrien let's begin with yours."

"Right," Adrien sighed. "The first day we met Lila, she asked to meet me in the park. When I did, she showed me a necklace and told me it was the Fox Miraculous. That she was a Hero called Volpina."

Chloé tried not to give an amused grin at Alya's furious expression. Nino was much better at keeping his poker face, but he still twitched at that statement.

"While we were talking," Adrien continued, oblivious, "Ladybug dropped into the park in front of us. She yelled at Lila for that interview about being her friend. She told me directly that she'd never met Lila before and that the necklace she had was a fake Miraculous."

"If that happened," Alya glared. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"At the time I thought it was better to confront Lila privately," Adrien admitted. "I thought- I thought it was just the whole 'I'm the new kid and want to make friends' thing. But she got Akumatized over that approach too. Between that, and the fact that none of you believed Marinette, I thought it'd be safer to stay quiet and let her lie herself into a corner."

"Adrien," Kagami said. "Tell them about the incident where I became Oni-Chan."

The blonde shifted uncomfortably. This time, everyone noticed.

"Lila lied to Nathalie and the Gorilla," Adrien admitted. "She told them she was tutoring me, as a ruse to get me alone in my room. After digging through my belongings, she pulled me into taking a selfie with her and ambushed me with a kiss. Then sent the picture to my entire contact list."

For emphasis, Chloé tapped the tablet screen and displayed the picture. Adrien's body language was clearly uncomfortable, both in the picture and here at the table. Kagami seemed to radiate rage, though kept it together. Marinette was in the same boat. Luka as well.

The other four seemed to flinch in guilt. After all, they'd seen the picture before. But they only now realized how it looked. Now that they were growing suspicious of Lila. Even if they didn't believe everything yet, they no longer saw the sweet, innocent angel.

"After that," Adrien swallowed. "I gave her one more chance. But then she tried to get Marinette expelled."

"You don't really think she did that, do you?" Alya asked, though her conviction was severely wavering.

"Alya," Marinette said, attempting not to glare. "You agree that someone framed me that day, right? Someone else put the cheat sheet in my bag? And Lila's necklace in my locker?"

"Someone had to," she said. "You don't cheat on tests. And- okay you occasionally snag a phone to delete an embarrassing voicemail or something. But you had no reason to steal Lila's necklace. Even with certain .... circumstances."

"Right," she said. "Then explain the whole "pushing Lila down the stairs" thing. What, do you think someone ran by and shoved her without me seeing them?"

"No," Nino said. "But, I mean, accidents happen. One of you trips and she ends up falling down the stairs. Lila probably thought you pushed her because you were mad at her."

"That's what we assumed too," Rose muttered.

"That's not what happened," Marinette said. "No one tripped. Lila didn't even fall. She walked down, sat at the bottom of the staircase, and started screaming."

While everyone in the room looked horrified, Adrien managed to pull together and get their attention again.

"After that," Adrien said. "I confronted Lila and told that either she fixes it and leaves Marinette alone, or I do everything in my power to expose her lies. She agreed to retract the accusations, but hoped that I wouldn't notice her continuing to hurt Marinette if she was subtle. Snide comments and such to make her look bad. And that's just what she's said in front of me. So the deal's off."

"And that brings us to yesterday morning," Chloé said. "Juleka, I think you can take it from here to talk about that."

"Right," Juleka nodded. "Uh, I noticed when we were talking about Adrien's interview that she made a comment about not wanting to use Adrien to promote herself. It seemed innocent but it made me feel... Like I had asked him to do it. Like I had used him. I think she was trying to imply that about Marinette, but I got caught in the crossfire. It was enough to make me wonder if Marinette's issues with Lila weren't as one-sided as we thought. And when they asked me to listen, I did. And then I went to Rose."

"I sent you the screenshots like you asked," Rose said.

"Putting them up on the screen now," Chloé replied, tapping the tablet.

As soon as she did, screenshots of a text conversation showed up. The contact name was " **👑Ali💜** ".

* * *

 **Rose🌹:** Hi! I had a real quick question!

 **👑Ali💜:** I have a few minutes before I meet with some nobles. What would you like to know?

 **Rose🌹:** Have you ever heard the name Lila Rossi?

 **👑Ali💜:** You've mentioned your new friend before.

 **Rose🌹:** But have you ever heard of her before that?

 **👑Ali💜:** I can't say that I have. Is everything alright?

 **Rose🌹:** I... don't know.

 **👑Ali💜:** May I ask what this is about?

 **Rose🌹:** Lila said she knew you. That you became friends during a meeting with her mother, an Italian Ambassador. 

**👑Ali💜:** I'm sorry to say that she lied to you. I don't have much context on the situation, but for both your sake and hers, I am hoping it is something innocent that you can discuss with her.

* * *

By now, both Alya and Nino were shaking. Starting to realize.

"I won't go too in depth on my interaction with Lila," Chloé said. "Mostly because I tend to avoid her unless I am attempting to physically pry her off Adrien. But I will say that she's tried to use Queen Bee against me twice. The first time, she promised that she'd talk to her 'bff Ladybug' about getting me reinstated on the team if I became one of her little followers. The second was today, after the appearance of Mitsubachi, where Lila told me that I was replaced for being such a disastrous teammate. Which is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!"

She noted the twitch in Kagami's expression. While they both knew that they hadn't really been 'replaced', she seemed to feel guilty for giving Lila more ammo. She shook it off quickly.

"My interaction with Lila was only while Akumatized," Kagami said. "And we have already gone over Oni-Chan. However, I would like to ask Alya why she never asked Ladybug about Lila's claims of friendship."

"I-I didn't- I just," Alya stammered. "Look, I'll admit I might've jumped the gun and posted that without checking. But Ladybug has never said anything about it! Ladybug checks the blog! She gives me interviews! She even let me help with, uh, certain projects. She's never said a thing about the interview!"

"There's a reason for that," Chloé said, purposely not looking at Marinette. "See, Kagami and I did talk to Ladybug and Chat yesterday and-"

"How did you do that?" Nino asked.

"They came to us, actually," Kagami explained. "As both Queen Bee and Ryuko were replaced with Mitsubachi and Alchemy, they wanted to be sure we were not upset at being benched. As we had the opportunity, we talked to them about Lila."

"Ladybug's answer was interesting," Chloé mused. "She said she wasn't sure what to do about the situation. After all, you didn't believe your best friend, so why would you trust Ladybug more? And Ladybug knew that if she did try, Lila might easily make up a story of 'Ladybug's just saying that to protect me' or 'we had a fight and she wants to hurt me'. Can you honestly tell me you wouldn't believe that if it happened?"

Alya tried to respond, but didn't have a satisfactory answer. This time, Chloé did look for Marinette's reaction. She looked sad, but not angry. Part of her wanted to say the girl was too forgiving. The rest of her understood that manipulation was a powerful tool.

Alya and the others who believed Lila were just more victims. True, had they done something horrible due to Lila's manipulations they would have to be held accountable. But being manipulated is not a crime. They should not be written off as horrible people because of someone else's abuse.

"I think she will listen now," Kagami said.

"Yeah," Alya nodded, noticing Marinette's stare. "I-I can't ignore all that. But there's so many pieces still missing. Like, what was the point of getting you expelled?"

"To discredit me," Marinette admitted. "I knew she was a liar after seeing that thing in the park. When I first called Lila out on her lies she - she threatened me. Said she'd make things up so that you all would hate me. So that even if I found proof, you wouldn't believe it. I told her I had more faith in you guys."

"Does that-" Nino swallowed. "I- do you still have faith in us?"

"I- I think," she shuddered. "It hurt. Seeing how easily you believed that I would be jealous of her. But it wasn't that I overestimated you guys. I underestimated her."

"We all did," Adrien said, taking her hand.

While the blush on Marinette's face was obvious to everyone, Chloé noticed both Kagami and Luka have a small flash of jealousy in their eyes. Interesting. She knew Kagami was into Adrien, but she wondered which one of the pair Luka was into.

"Hey, Rockstar," Chloé said. "You have any input? Because you've been quiet the whole time."

"I'm not sure that to say, really," Luka said, his gaze still on the hand holding. "I never met Lila. I heard a few things that Juleka and her friends told me, but not much. If I had, I would've been able to shoot down that story about Jagged Stone having a cat. I'm surprised Juleka fell for that one."

"Look," Juleka sighed. "You say something with enough confidence and people will believe it. Especially since we already thought everything else was true. Why would that be the one lie?"

"That's fair," Marinette sighed.

"On that note," Chloé said. "I do have a little surprise set up. If one of you would open the door?"

Rose was closest. She got up from her seat and turned the knob. It only opened an inch or so before it burst open, knocking her on her butt.

The thing that had burst the door open, was a crocodile. Said animal immediately tackled Marinette. The crocodile was followed by a man in black and purple who just barely kept himself from tackling Marinette as well. Though he still hugged her. The rest of the group collectively whispered "holy shit it's Jagged Stone!"

"How's my favorite designer!" Jagged asked, ruffling Marinette's hair.

"I'm fine, Jagged," Marinette laughed. "What are you even doing here? I though you were in London?"

"We had a free day," Penny said, being the only one to walk calmly over to say hello.

"And decided to pop in after hearing you were having a bad time!" Jagged added.

"How...?" Marinette wondered.

"You're not the only one who has his number," Chloé smirked, patting Fang's head as the crocodile tried to climb into her lap. "By the way, Jagged, can I ask you a few questions about something?"

"I thought that one was the reporter?" Jagged asked, pointing to Alya.

"Holy shit Jagged Stone knows who I am!" Alya whispered, shaking Nino, who was also star struck.

"She is," Chloé said. "But this is a specific situation."

Both Jagged and Penny shared a look, worried and confused. Still, he waved his hand as a 'go ahead' gesture. It was just a game of deciding where to start.

"Have you ever had a cat?" Chloé asked.

"No?" Jagged almost laughed. "Nothing against the little fur balls, but between some mild allergies and the fact that they're not really my Aesthetic, there's a reason Fang's a crocodile!"

Most of the group missed the looks Luka and Juleka gave each other. The classic 'I told you so' and 'look...' expressions.

"Have you ever written a song for anyone?" Chloé asked, ignoring the audience.

"Other than Ladybug?" Jagged said. "Not since I started songwriting in High School. Wrote something for my girlfriend at the time, then she broke my heart. Couldn't sing that song without crying, so I knew I didn't want to have to preform another failed love song on stage or hear it on the radio. And any kind of 'hate song' is an easy way to get sued for defamation. Better to avoid writing about specific people. Ladybug's the exception since she's a Superhero."

"One more question," she said. "Have you ever heard of someone named Lila Rossi?"

Jagged leaned back and thought for a moment. That was an answer itself. It was also a little unnecessary, as everyone seemed aware that Lila had lied. But considering Lila's habits of attempting to worm out of any contradictions to her stories, it was better to cover all bases.

"I knew a Lily Russo once?" Jagged offered. "Haven't talked to her in years but she used to live next door when I was a teenager?"

"What's this about?" Penny asked.

"A classmate of ours named Lila Rossi," Chloé explained. "She likes to tell stories about knowing celebrities. She claimed she got tinnitus by saving Jagged's cat from getting run over on an airport runway, and that he wrote a song about her as a thanks."

"Please tell me you didn't fall for that," Jagged sighed looking at Marinette.

"Of course not!" Marinette replied. "I called her out on it immediately but..."

"Lila's good at manipulating the situation," Kagami said. "She seems to be charismatic and a quick thinker. She convinced those who didn't definitively know the truth that Marinette's suspicions were caused by jealousy."

"I still don't get that," Adrien sighed. "Even if everything Lila said was true, why would Marinette be jealous?"

That got a side glance from everyone. Even Jagged and Penny caught on. Yet Adrien remained oblivious. Though he seemed aware enough of his obliviousness to realize he was missing something. 

"What all has this Lila been saying?" Penny asked, changing the subject.

"Other than what she's said about Jagged," Alya swallowed. "She's claimed to be best friends with Ladybug. And close to Prince Ali of Achu, working with him on charities. And she said she taught Clara Nightingale a few dance moves and-"

"Hold on I'm calling Clara," Jagged said, pulling out his phone.

"Would you mind calling her from this tablet?" Chloé asked. "I want evidence of this, and Lila's other lies."

"I'll tell her I'm calling from a different device," he nodded.

After sending a quick text from his personal phone, Jagged took the tablet from Chloé and began typing on that. It only took a few rings to be picked up.

Clara was easily recognizable, even if she wasn't in full stage makeup like Jagged was. She seemed to be in a dance studio of sorts. Probably rehearsing her performances.

"Sorry about the time difference, Clara," Jagged said.

"Don't worry, I'm glad to see you," Clara replied. "And I seem to recognize a few."

"Yeah, uh, about that," Chloé said awkwardly. "Before we do anything else can I say sorry for that whole 'trying to get my dad to ban you from recording in Paris' thing? I was kind of a jerk and I'm working on being better about that sort of thing?"

"That is good to hear," Clara mused. "In that case, I accept the apology, my dear!"

"Clara, you're rhyming again," Jagged said.

She paused, then laughed a bit sheepishly.

"Sorry," Clara said. "Once you get going it's hard to stop! I only have a few minutes break between rehearsals."

"That's all we need," Adrien said. "We just wanted confirmation that you've never met Lila Rossi."

"I can't say I have met someone by that name," she said. "What's this about?"

"A girl who lies about knowing celebrities," Kagami said. "She claimed to know you, Jagged, and several others personally."

"She said she taught you a few dance moves," Nino offered.

"As I said, her name is unfamiliar," Clara frowned. "And all dancers who help me work on choreography are credited in my videos. Should I contact my lawyers about this girl?"

"No!" Marinette said. "I mean, I don't want her, you know. Blasted with lawsuits! I just want people to know that she's lying about things!"

"Can you even get sued for that?" Rose asked, suddenly very worried. "I mean, I know defamation suits are a thing. But while she's lied about a lot of people, you can't just go after every random person who lies about you, right? Or every teenager writing real-person fics? I understand why you might want to, but that seems a little overboard."

"It depends on if it's personal or public," Alya said with a grim expression. "Lila wanted me to post more of her stories on my blog. I- I told her no, because it's the Ladyblog. It's for stuff about the Heroes and related media. Not for all the other stuff she supposedly did, even if there might be a relation as 'Ladybug's bff'. But- but the Ladyblog is more than just my personal blog at this point. Since Ladybug comes directly to me, it's considered a legitimate news source. If I reported on any of her stories on the blog, that would count. But you'd be coming after me and the blog first, then Lila as an associate and source and-"

"They're not going to sue your blog," Nino said, putting his arm around her as comfort. "You didn't actually post that stuff."

"Glad you had some sense," Chloé said.

"Chloé be nice," Adrien said.

"We're not letting her get away with this though," Luka said.

"Absolutely not," Chloé said. "While the courts might have a Half-way solid argument against Jagged or Clara suing her, we can sue her for defamation toward Marinette. After all, she did try to destroy Marinette's reputation. Both socially and criminally. Accusing her of bullying, theft, assault, and who knows what else she'd make up if we let her keep going. Then there's Lila's crimes toward Adrien. I'd call the whole "be my friend or I'll ruin your friend's reputation" thing as blackmail. Not to mention sexual harassment."

"I'm calling my lawyers anyway," Jagged said. "Whatever we can get to stick will stick!"

"Mine as well and-" Clara paused, looking off camera at something. "Sorry, I have to get back to rehearsal. Keep me updated."

With that, Clara's call ended. It didn't stop Penny from stepping out to start another call to Jagged's lawyers.

"So what now?" Marinette asked. "I still don't want..."

"Mari," Adrien sighed. "I know I was the one who originally wanted to be lenient on Lila, but that was when I thought she was just lying for attention and someone we could stop on our own. She's dangerous. And I'm sorry I didn't see that."

"Look at it this way," Kagami said. "Even if we get through to the rest of the class, and maybe even the school staff, what's to stop Lila from doing this again? She gets transferred to another school that doesn't know her, and it all starts over again. But this time, her new target might not be able to fight her way out."

"For now," Chloé said. "We need to gather a bit more evidence. And unfortunately for you peasants-"

"Chloé be nice," Adrien warned.

"Anyway," she rolled her eyes. "The way to do that is to pretend things are normal."

"Pretend she's not just lying to my face?" Alya demanded. "Pretend that she's-"

"Yes," she said. "If Lila knows what's coming, she can cover her bases and attempt to discredit us. Telling everyone else that we're jealous over the 'attention' she's getting from Adrien. That Alya is jealous of her 'close relationship with Ladybug', and the same for Rose and Prince Ali. Juleka would be obviously trying to ruin Lila's modeling career to take her place. And if she can't get you directly, then she'll accuse the others of manipulating you. She'll try it anyway, when we blast her with evidence. But if we let her get to everyone else first, they'll be inclined to stop listening."

"While I'm still wary," Marinette said. "I do like the idea of gathering evidence. If we did turn this into a court case, then who wants to bet on her saying "oh, I never said anything about Jagged! They're making this up!". Video evidence would go a long way."

"You did say Lila wanted to give more interviews," Nino said.

"Is there a way to get her school records?" Luka wondered. "Legally, I mean. I don't want to hear about you guys breaking into the office. But assuming the school staff has some sense, then there's records of Lila's absences, injuries, and supposed disabilities. Any doctors notes or letters from her parents are probably fakes."

"I can't think of a way that isn't technically lying," Rose said. "And it'd probably be better if we don't do that, right?"

"We might not get that before the lawyers are involved," Kagami said. "But if it comes down to it, once the case begins we can subpoena her records. Along with her actual medical records to compare it to."

"For now, I think there's one more thing," Adrien said. "Juleka, do you think you could take one of the modeling contracts? After what I said in the interview, my father is hoping to hire you."

"Really?" Nino raised an eyebrow. "No offense dudette, but why would he want to hire her?"

"He doesn't necessarily want Juleka," he said. "He just wants someone to replace Lila. Disregarding her lying, she was very unprofessional in our shoot. Refusing to follow directions, insisting she knows better than the photographers, so on and so forth. The shoot lasted an extra hour due to everything she did. Even without our plans, she won't last long. If you accept the contract tonight, then you might be able to get invited to tomorrow's shoot."

"Are you okay with things going that fast?" Luka asked, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder.

"I-I'll do it," Juleka said. "I'm nervous but... I can at least help keep Lila from getting all... hands-on."

"Or record her when she does," Kagami said in a near-growl.

Adrien looked grateful for that, at least. It probably wouldn't stop Lila completely, given her previous actions. But it might deter her if she believes Juleka is still an ally.

While they were still trying to find the next talking point, Penny popped her head back in the door.

"Jagged we need to go," Penny said. "Unless we're cancelling the show in London, we need to get back to set up now."

"Right," Jagged sighed. "Okay, kids. Keep me updated. Come on Fang!"

The crocodile, who had been pouting at the lack of attention he was getting, did untangle himself from everyone's laps and follow his master out the door.

"Oh, I should've asked him for an interview!" Alya exclaimed.

"Babe, not the time," Nino sighed.

"Maybe not now," Adrien said. "But more interviews could be good. Thanks to Chloé's recording, we have statements of Jagged, Clara and the screenshots from Prince Ali. Are there any other big names Lila mentioned that we can get a hold of?"

"She's mentioned plenty of celebrities," Marinette sighed. "Don't think we can get to them though. Unless we ask Jagged, but he's done plenty already."

"Oh, she mentioned Chloé's mom once!" Rose said. "When we first saw her photoshoot with Adrien, we asked about it and she said she had experience from working with her as a model!"

"We're not bringing her in on this," Chloé said, her posture stiffening as she attempted to not break the tablet in half.

"Yeah, Audrey's a bad idea," Adrien agreed.

"Why?" Alya wondered. "She's still in Paris, right? Couldn't you just go and ask?"

"Assuming she'd answer, it wouldn't help," Chloé snapped. "The woman can't even remember my name. So her saying she doesn't remember Lila won't mean anything."

Damn it. They were all staring at her. Adrien and Marinette had already known about her relationship with her mother. Or lack thereof.

But the others were seeming to have this dawning realization. Combined with something that might be sympathy, but the small voice in the back of Chloé's head (that sounded suspiciously like Audrey) said it was pity.

Wiping at her face, Chloé tapped the tablet and turned off the recording. The next subject probably shouldn't be recorded

"There's one more thing we have to talk about," Chloé said. "The possibility that Lila will get Akumatized when called out. She apparently has a habit of it."

"That's one thing that's bothering me," Nino said. "That day Lila came back, the timeline's weird. She was only gone for a few minutes, but it was enough time to threaten Marinette in the bathroom, for Adrien to talk to her about not lying, and then get Akumatized."

"Thanks for reminding me I'm an idiot," Adrien sighed.

"You didn't know," Rose said, reaching across to give him a comforting pat.

"I'm more focusing on how quick it was," Nino clarified. "Like, does Hawkmoth just have Butterflies hanging out in the hallways to hit people the moment they get pissed or what?"

"No, he doesn't," Marinette swallowed. "That- that happened so quickly because the Butterfly was already there. It- it was- it was supposed to be for me."

And Adrien was now out of his chair and pacing while most everyone else nearly tackled Marinette for comfort hugs. His hair seemed to fluff up as his hand twitched, the word 'Cataclysm' likely on the top of his tongue.

"I'm going to kill her!" Adrien announced. "I think I might actually kill her!"

"Adrien, its fine," Marinette sighed.

"Yeah, I mean, it's not," Alya said. "It's not 'okay', but it's not like it's the end of the world, right?"

"It might be," Adrien retorted. "There's this list of "people who cannot be Akumatized at all costs", and Marinette's third on the list after Ladybug and Chat!"

"Maybe higher, honestly," Chloé muttered, not that anyone heard.

"I'm sure I wouldn't be that bad," Marinette said, avoiding anyone's gaze. "I mean, definitely not as bad as Ladybug or Chat Noir getting Akumatized!"

"You underestimate yourself," Adrien said. "When I call you 'Everyday Ladybug', I mean it. I've see you pull off some brilliant strategies that are on the same level as Ladybug. Give you Magic Powers, and Ladybug might meet her match. Not to mention that considering have to deal with so much and have fought off Akumatizations before, whatever breaks you enough to make you give in is going to be horrific."

Everyone cringed in agreement, imagining the scenario. Especially considering the fact that they nearly had a part in that, had Lila's lies gone unrealized.

"So, miss 'Everyday Ladybug'," Chloé said with a grin. "If Lila does get Akumatized, she'll probably go after everyone in this room. Maybe even everyone in our class. You have a strategy for that?"

"We won't have much of a strategy until we know her power set," Marinette said, slipping into 'Ladybug mode' a little too easily. "Best bet is to scatter. She can't get all of us. After that, hide and keep an eye out."

"Do we have an actual date when we're slamming her with all this?" Alya asked.

"It should be soon," Adrien said. "This has gone on too long because of all of us not communicating or saying stupid things. I'm not standing by anymore."

"Less than a week," Chloé shrugged. "That should give us enough time to gather evidence."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting going!
> 
> Kinda debating on writing a court scene. I kinda wrote one last time but I mean a real court scene!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Photoshoots, Lila being a dick, another Akuma, and a new hero!
> 
> Also, mild trigger warning for some transphobia.

Cecilia was usually a patient person. She had to be, since she was one of the photographer. It was about waiting for just the right moment to take her shot. And working for the Agreste brand? Well, dealing with Gabriel required a bit of patience. But Cecilia could handle him.

However, this new girl was testing her resolve. From the moment Cecilia had met her, this girl was trying to boss her around. Telling her the 'best angles to shoot her at', and 'the lighting is all wrong for her complexion', and how Cecilia should listen to her because she 'had so much experience working for Audrey Bourgeois'.

Yeah right. The girl wouldn't last two minutes with the Style Queen. Not that people lasted that long anyway. But backtalking like she was would get her kicked immediately.

And now she couldn't follow simple directions.

"Miss Rossi!" Cecilia snapped. "You are supposed to just interlock your arm with Adrien's. Do not hold his hand, or put your hand on his waist, or cuddle up to him. Please do as you're told!"

"Are you sure?" Lila replied, smiling oh so sweetly. "I think the shoot would benefit from the closeness of the models. I'm sure a good photographer would be able to showcase the clothes no matter what pose we're in!"

Cecilia barely held back a growl at that. Instead, she sighed and looked to the other new girl. This was Miss Couffaine's first time on a shoot, and she looked a bit nervous. That was the only reason Cecilia hadn't asked her to replace Miss Rossi yet.

Rolling her eyes, she reminded Miss Rossi that she was in charge, regardless of her so-called ‘experience’. The girl scowled at her, but didn't respond.

Not that it kept her from acting physically. The moment Cecilia stepped behind the camera again, Miss Rossi snuggled closer to Adrien. While she kept one arm interlocked with his, as asked, the pair of them were less than an inch apart, with her hand splayed across his chest.

"What did I just say, Miss Rossi?" Cecilia demanded.

"But sir, this is so much-" Lila began.

"I'm not a 'sir'," she snapped.

"Really?" She asked, giving her a look over.

Cecilia was very close to throwing hands with a child. The only thing that stopped her was that Adrien pulled the girl away to reprimand her in a hushed whisper. Unfortunately not hushed enough, because she could still hear all the things that girl said.

Between Cecilia's rage and the bickering, no one noticed the purple Butterfly entering her camera until it was too late.

_"Switcher, I am Hawkmoth. Gender is such a complicated thing, isn't it? Perhaps this girl could benefit from seeing the situation from your perspective?"_

* * *

One minute, Adrien was bickering with Lila over her horrible comments. The next, the photographer is being covered in black and purple. Damn it.

The Akuma that appeared wasn't the most outlandish that had been made. She looked mostly normal, just in a new outfit. Though the outfit was a bit odd.

She had a white dress shirt with a pink suit jacket and tie. Instead of matching pants though, she had a blue skirt that looked more like it belonged on a ball gown.

She held up her camera, clicking the shutter and shooting out a beam of white.

Adrien's reflexes took over, shoving Lila away from him as the beam went between their bodies.

The Akuma aimed again at Lila, this time hitting her, but Adrien didn't wait to see what happened. He ran, grabbing Juleka on the way.

Despite his speed, they still got hit, sending the pair sprawling. It definitely did something, as Adrien felt strange, but at least he didn't get trapped in some void like the last photographer Akuma.

He pulled Juleka up and kept running. Thankfully the Akuma left them alone, flying off to cause chaos somewhere else.

They made their way to one of the tents set up for makeup and outfit changes. Everyone else seemed to have scattered as well.

"Are you okay?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah, I think I just-" Juleka paused, staring at him. "Oh."

"Oh what?" He wondered.

"Uh, I was," she glanced aside, her face turning red. "I was right about how you'd make a cute girl."

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

Instead of saying something else, she grabbed his shoulders and turned him toward the mirror set up. And, well, this was going to be a weird fucking day.

The Akuma seemed to have a gender swap spell. Not the most annoying power, but suddenly seeing himself as a girl was quite a punch to the face.

Honestly he didn't look that different. The most obvious changes he could see was the chest area, hips, and his hair being much longer. Now that he was aware of it, he could feel the physical changes 'downstairs' as well.

More subtle changes were in the roundness of the face, and actual makeup instead of just the usual kind for photoshoots. His clothes had also changed, fitting his new body as well as they usually did. And it included a bra. Which felt weird but was convenient.

Again, not the worst think an Akuma could've done. But this was going to be weird the whole fight.

"Well, at least you were right, I am cute," Adrien said. "Didn't you get hit too? How come you don't look different?"

"Uh, well," Juleka sighed. "This wasn't how I was planning to ever tell you, but considering how you were defending the photographer from Lila's comments..."

"Oh," he said. "You're trans too."

"Exactly," she said. "I technically changed a little, but I think it’s not as drastic because of that."

"Right," he nodded. "How about, uh, you stay here and I go keep an eye on the fight?"

It was a poor excuse, but he needed some reason to go transform. Without giving Juleka a chance to pull him back, he ran out and found a spot to hide.

Plagg flew out of wherever he had been, already laughing at him.

"Your face when you saw your reflection!" Plagg chuckled.

"Laugh it up," Adrien sighed. "How come you didn't change either?"

"Kid," he rolled his eyes, "even if I had a gender in the first place, over thousands of years you realize how fluid gender is and just say "fuck it". I might go by male pronouns now, but all of us Kwami have switched it up."

That was interesting. And a little existential. It was pushed aside for now.

"Plagg, Claws Out!"

Thankfully, his suit didn't change just because of the genderswap. Perhaps he should be a bit self conscious of the way the suit hugged his new curves but, well, it already did that usually, didn't it? The only real difference to his outfit was that his hair was held back by some kind of clip instead of just loose.

Chat ran off, climbing up rooftops and jumping across the city as usual. Despite the fact that he was up so high, people were already pulling out their phones to take pictures of him. Great. He could guess what was going to get a lot of fanart later.

'Spotting' a familiar red figure, he dropped down on the roof next to her.

"Hello, Bugaboo!" Chat greeted.

"I told you not to-" Ladybug stared at him. "What in the hell?"

"Akuma," Chat shrugged.

"Genderswap Akuma?" She mused. "That's new. Anything else you can tell me?"

"I think the Butterfly's in her camera," he said. "And when her beam hits you, you get knocked back."

"Right," she said.

She sounded a little distracted. Then he realized that her eyes weren't meeting his face.

"Are you checking 'me-owt'?" Chat snickered.

"No!" Ladybug exclaimed, looking literally anywhere else.

"You totally are!" He laughed. "Didn't know this was the way to get your attention! Wait. I know you keep saying there's someone else you like, but is it actually a girl and I literally had no chance? That's okay but you can tell me."

"No! I mean yes, I mean-" she stammered. "The person I like is a guy, but I am interested in girls too. Anyway! Not the point! Let's defeat this Akuma so we can fix you and go home!"

Twenty minutes later, Ladybug and Chat Noir were exhausted and on a different rooftop. They'd gotten hit a lot. And while getting hit a second time (or a tenth time) didn't continue to make them switch back and forth, it did knock them back physically.

Chat took part of his breather to check out Ladybug's new form. She didn't change too much, outside of her chest being flatter and her jaw line more squared. Her hair was mostly the same too, looking like someone had chopped off her pigtails.

"Really?" Ladybug asked, noticing him staring.

"You were checking me out," Chat pouted. "It's only fair."

"So even as a guy, I'm your 'type'?" She wondered.

"Yep," he said. "My type is "dark haired, kind but determined, and with the ability to pick me up over their shoulder like a sack of flour!"

That took her by surprise, the color of her face quickly reaching the shade of her suit. Averting her eyes and focusing back on the Akuma that was still running around, she began to think of a strategy.

"I think we need another ally," Ladybug said. "She's too quick for us to hit, but someone she can't see coming would work."

"Okay, you handle that, I'll distract her!" Chat nodded, gearing up for an "annoyance special".

"No," she said. "I... I realized something recently. I don't really rely on others. I have you and a whole team, but I don't talk to any of you about things. And I know that hurts you sometimes."

"It's not your fault," he said. "Yeah, I was pissed when I thought you were purposely keeping me out of the loop. And okay, I'm still kinda mad. But it's not your fault Master Fu doesn't trust me enough to tell me anything."

"I... don't know what his issue is," she sighed. "But I trust you. And next time I see him, I'm going to remind him that you're my partner. We're equals. You should be learning just as much about the Miraculous as I am, and you should be allowed to know who our teammates are. Especially in case anything happens to me and you need to get backup."

"Right," he sighed. "Thanks for believing in me, you know?"

"You deserve it," she said. "Which is why I'm letting you pick who we choose. I'll give my input, but for the most part, it's your turn."

Chat thought about it, watching the Akuma's attack. Something to help them sneak up on her.

"Can we bring Multimouse back? Chat asked. "A bunch of tiny Heroes are less noticeable than us."

"No!" Ladybug exclaimed. "I- I mean, Marinette's identity was compromised! Miss Mendelieve saw her detransform, and Hawkmoth might've been watching the fight and saw her too. We can't use her."

"Unless we pull off something like with the Bee and Dragon," he countered. “The Dragon could work. Think Alchemy would be effected by the beam in her Element forms?"

"Maybe," she frowned.

"Hm..." he mused. "Maybe someone new entirely? Are there any Miraculous that have invisibility or intangibility?"

"Actually....

* * *

Juleka was pacing. She'd ended up running to the other side of the park to avoid a very upset Lila. But Adrien was nowhere to be seen.

Well, checking her phone for messages showed that he was trending on twitter, since some fans had seen him running around as a girl thanks to the Akuma. But from the pictures she saw, he was nowhere near the park. How in the hell did her get over there?

That question was tossed out the window as Chat Noir dropped down in front of her. And damn did he make as cute of a girl as Adrien did.

"Hey," Chat said. "We need your help with something."

"I don't know how I can help," Juleka admitted. "But whatever you need."

"Good," he said, pulling out a small, octagonal box. "Juleka Couffaine, this is the Miraculous of the Tiger."

Looking at that box made her feel frozen. Nope. Nope nope nope. She might've been willing to help but actually being a Hero was different! Shouldn't that go to people who are actually special and Magical?

"I can tell you're a bit scared," Chat said. "But trust me. Half of us Heroes felt unprepared. And those who did figured out we weren't. I know you can do this."

"I-okay," Juleka nodded, taking the box.

Inside the box was a panjas bracelet. It was beautiful. Actually something she might enjoy wearing on the day to day.

Slipping it onto her wrist, the jewel seemed to glow. A small creature appeared from the light. It looked like a tiny, magenta tiger.

"What are you?" Juleka asked.

"I'm a Kwami!" The creature said. "My name is Roaar!"

"Kwami are connected to the Miraculous," Chat explained. "It's what allows us to transform and use our powers."

"To transform, say "Roaar, Let's Hunt!" Roaar said. "Your power, Stealth, allows you to become invisible. Though you can still be physically hit."

She nodded, taking that in. It was easy to tell what their plan was with her. Sneak up and grab the Akuma's item. The camera.

"Roaar, Let's Hunt!"

Magic washed over her. It felt interesting. Tingly. Like- like bathing in pop rocks.

Okay that was a weird analogy but it was all she could think of.

The first thing Juleka noticed was her hair. The purple tips had been Magically dyed the same magenta as Roaar had been. It had also been tied into a ponytail.

Looking at her costume, it was mostly magenta as well. A long sleeved dress and leggings, the front of the dress being a lighter shade, and everywhere else having stripes. She also had boots and gloves, and a belt tail like Chat's. Though she couldn't see it, she could guess that she had a mask and ears like he did too.

While the Miraculous was on her left hand, her right one had a weapon. A gauntlet of sorts with blades on it. It kind of reminded her of Wolverine.

"How come half of you get weapons while the rest of us have toys and instruments?" Chat somewhat jokingly whined. "Do you have any idea how much more efficient I'd be if I had a fencing saber?"

"Well, you are comparing a housecat to a tiger," Juleka grinned. "Maybe you've been declawed."

"I'm not sure if I should be offended or proud!" He laughed. "What should we call you?"

"How about Tigress," she offered. "Simple."

With a nod, he lead the way back to the fight. Tigress almost couldn't believe this. Leaping across rooftops without fear of falling.

Soon they were back at the fight. Ladybug seemed to have been distracting the Akuma while waiting. Though Switcher wasn't destructive, pretty much everyone around had gotten hit.

Chat joined Ladybug, but Tigress held back and activated her Stealth.

One never realized how much of themselves they could see in their peripheral vision until they couldn’t see themselves. Her bangs, her nose, everything was gone.

Waving her hand in front of her face, she couldn’t see it either. Yet she was hyper aware of where it was in relation to everything else. Probably something built into the Magic so that she wouldn’t be completely useless while invisible.

It was all too easy after that. Tigress dropped down to the street, avoiding any fleeing civilians, and got right up to Switcher without her noticing.

Switcher did notice when an invisible force ripped her camera out of her hands, but she didn’t have enough of a grip to hold it.

Once the camera was smashed on the ground, Ladybug caught the Butterfly and went about fixing things. Tigress also let her Stealth wear off, becoming visible once more.

“Are you okay?” Tigress asked, offering the photographer a hand up.

“Oh, yeah,” Cecilia shook her head. “I’m sorry about the mess. It’s been a day. You’re… new.”

“Call me Tigress,” she said.

“Anyway!” Chat inturupted. “We need to get going. Can you make your way back alright, miss?”

“Yeah, I can,” Cecilia sighed.

With that, Ladybug and Chat whisked Tigress away to a small, hidden area of the park. Tigress’s Transformation timed out, the energy rush leaving her as Roaar appeared. The small Kwami seemed tired.

“Thanks for the help,” Ladybug said.

“Y-you’re welcome,” Juleka replied, slipping off the Miraculous. “It was… I don’t want to say fun but-“

“It was a little fun,” Chat said. “If you don’t find some fun in the job, you’ll go crazy!”

She had to give him that, at least. The Tiger Miraculous was returned, Roaar disappearing as it went in the box. Unfortunately. It would’ve been nice to talk to her more.

“Oh, before you leave,” Juleka began. “I know you already talked to Chloé and Kagami about Lila Rossi, but they’d really appreciate it if you could give them a video of you two saying you don’t know her? I’d offer to make one right now, but my phone is back at the shoot.”

“We will,” Ladybug sighed. “I think I’ll go to Alya about it though. I… need to talk to her about some things.”

* * *

After making a few changes, the shoot had gone off with little issue. It was now several hours later, and Cecilia was back in her own studio, finishing up some paperwork.

She looked up when she heard the door open. It was Gabriel’s assistant, Nathalie. Odd. She’d sent the digital copies of the photos for Gabriel to look over, but she didn’t expect to hear anything about it until at least tomorrow.

That can’t be good. On the bright side, Cecilia did catch a glimpse of the driver/bodyguard in the car. That was always a highlight to her day.

“Good evening, Nathalie,” Cecilia grinned. “Is everything okay with the photos?”

“Gabriel sent me to ask a few questions,” Nathalie said, her voice as cool as ever. “Specifically, we were wondering why none of the pictures you sent had Miss Rossi in them. Did she call in sick?”

She sighed, taking a breath to make sure she didn’t completely railroad the kid, as much as she deserved it. Professionalism was a bitch sometimes.

“Miss Rossi is the least professional model I have ever worked with,” Cecilia stated. “She refused to listen to direction. I would instruct her on the pose to hold, and as soon as I began to take the picture she would move closer to Adrien and insist that ‘seeing the chemistry between models is so much better for the Brand!’, and then quote her supposed experience at me.”

“I had heard something similar from Vincent,” Nathalie said. “Though it did get lost in a spaghetti metaphor. Would you call this inexperience and overconfidence on Miss Rossi’s part?”

“Honestly?” she scoffed. “If Adrien hadn’t confirmed that Miss Rossi was supposed to be there, I would’ve thought she was some fangirl who lied her way on set to feel him up. Because that’s basically all she was doing. It was the skeeviest thing I have ever seen on a shoot without being explicitly provocative!”

“I see,” she mused, the usual cold glare seeming to light a fire of fury.

“She also made quite a few transphobic comments that I refuse to repeat,” she said. “I know the Agreste Brand is supportive of the LGBTQ community, so if she's to stay on as a model, I highly suggest someone give her a long talk about that.”

“Was that the cause of your Akumitization earlier?” she wondered.

“The final tipping point,” she admitted. “Unless Hawkmoth was hiding out in a tree, I think it was more my frustrations at the fact that I’d been attempting to get Miss Rossi to cooperate for nearly an hour and had only gotten a handful of passable shots.”

“And after that, you decided Miss Couffaine would work better?” she asked.

“I had intended to put Miss Rossi in a time out of sorts,” she admitted. “I told her I would be doing a few shots with Adrien and Miss Couffaine, and that she could return if she agreed to remain professional. Instead she threw a tantrum about how she would ‘get me fired because she was Gabriel’s ‘muse’ and couldn’t be gotten rid of so easily’. Then she walked off the set and I didn’t see her again.”

Something about that actually got Nathalie to raise her eyebrows. It was probably the ‘muse’ thing. If Cecilia hadn’t worked with the Agreste Brand for so long, she probably would’ve thought some creepy things about Gabriel after that line.

“I will be reporting this to Gabriel,” Nathalie said. “I don’t think Miss Rossi will be working with us much longer. That said, how was Miss Couffaine?”

“She was great, all things considering!” Cecilia grinned. “Between her inexperience and being shaken up from my Akumatization and Miss Rossi’s tantrum, I expected her to be a little more trouble. But after the first few takes, she got into it pretty well. Still a little stiff sometimes, but I’m sure with some experience she’d work out.”

“Thank you for your time,” she nodded before walking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't think Lila will be working for Gabriel much longer!
> 
> Edit: 
> 
> BTW, since some commenters were confused, Juleka is a transgirl and the genderswap Akuma just made her a cisgender girl.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of stuff happens. I debated about breaking this chapter up but... some irl things are happening and I didn't want to break it up.

Things had gone surprisingly quickly. Chloé’s estimated ‘Operation: Burn the Witch’ date had been Wednesday. Yet by Monday things had been ready to go. 

Lila had been so upset at being put in time out at the shoot that she’d gone straight to Alya ‘for comfort’. Apparently she’d caught on that Juleka was no longer believing her lies, and decided to try and turn everyone against her too, because the lie she told Alya was that Juleka had ‘sabotaged her photoshoot by making hushed comments to the photographer until she was kicked off set’. She cried about how ‘I thought Juleka was so nice, but I guess just like Marinette, some people will turn nasty when jealous!’

Of course, Alya had been oh so very close to blowing the operation and throwing hands with the bitch. But she managed to pull it together. And tell Lila about how she was starting a new blog about general news, not just the Heroes. She wanted Lila’s accomplishments to be her first story! Also implying that she’d do a story on people who bully others out of jealousy.

It wasn’t technically a lie on Alya’s part. She was going to make a blog for local community news. And her first story would be on Lila’s lies. The half-truth was enough to get Lila spilling her stories to the camera.

Then, once Lila had left Alya’s house, Ladybug and Chat Noir had shown up to do their own interview.

And then, Sunday afternoon, Adrien had been called into his father’s office. Apparently Cecilia had reported everything Lila did on set of the shoot, and Gabriel was concerned with Cecilia’s comments of ‘feeling Adrien up’. He had hoped it was the case of Lila being a secret girlfriend who was just a little too excited, but when Adrien clarified that no, it was straight up harassment, the man had such cold fury in his eyes.

Adrien decided right then and there that he was buying Cecilia one hell of a gift basket for reporting this.

Gabriel had Nathalie write up termination papers and was pulling up his lawyers contact information for a restraining order when Adrien had decided to let him in on the plan. A call to Chloé had the lawyer she already hired talk to Gabriel’s lawyer and, well, things were definitely moving.

Sunday night, they’d updated the rest of the group about how quickly things were going down. Everyone was nervous with anticipation. Though as Luka and Kagami didn’t go to their class, they couldn’t bear witness to the takedown.

Monday morning, everyone was in class. Lila was sitting on a desk, most of the class hanging off her every word. Or pretending to do so. And that was when Adrien handed Lila a large manila envelope.

“What’s this?” Lila asked, innocently opening the envelope.

“Your termination papers,” Adrien said. “Since I share a class with you, father thought it would be better than mailing it.”

“I- what are you talking about?” she demanded, not fully processing.

“The paperwork to terminate your contract with the Agreste Brand,” he explained, much to the shock of those who weren’t in on the plan. “You refused to listen to the photographer, insulted her, and stormed off set when she told you to take a few minutes to get your act together. That’s… really unprofessional.”

“Did that photographer do something?” she gasped, already starting up the fake tears. “Adrien, I know I should’ve said something, but after I came back to the shoot that photographer came onto me. He said he’d-“

“First of all,” he cut her off, leveling her with his best Agreste Glare. “Her name is Cecilia, and as I told you several times, she is a woman. She would also never do that, because she’s a decent person. Not to mention that she’s not even interested in other women.”

That got the crowd murmuring. Especially once the Team started purposely adding to the whispers by bringing up Lila’s old crimes and adding fuel to the fire. Perhaps, if Lila had gone to talk to them once everything had calmed, she could’ve come up with a lie to turn it all around.

But she never got the chance.

* * *

Chloé had been waiting at the door. Partly to let Adrien tell Lila she was fired before handing the final blow, but also because she wanted to be dramatic. Those two points weren’t exclusive.

As soon as Adrien backed up, she motioned for the lawyer she’d brought to follow her in. Chloé decided to stand off to the side with Marinette and Juleka, Adrien joining them, while the lawyer stood at the front.

“Which one of you is Lila Rossi?” the lawyer asked.

Everyone pointed, the Liar herself letting her expression shift to a suspicious glare for a moment before forcing an innocent and curious look. The lawyer, however, just straightened her scarf and handed Lila an even bigger manila envelope than Adrien had.

“My name is Diamond Valor,” the lawyer said. “I’m a lawyer representing several clients in their case against you. Firstly, the defamation suit from Miss Dupain-Cheng and-“

“Really?” Lila sighed, turning on the ‘heartbroken’ waterworks as she looked to Marinette. “I thought we put all this behind us. It wasn’t enough to bully me but now you’re getting lawyers involved to try and put me down more? You know your accusations won’t hold up, since you’re just making it up out of jealousy!”

“I think it will,” Adrien said. “Considering that there’s a lot of testimony, and the fact that Marinette has no reason to be jealous of you.”

“I know I’m not supposed to say anything,” she sighed, pouting with fake guilt. “But if you keep defending her because she’s ‘not jealous’ then I have to. She has a crush on you, and is jealous because you’ve been spending so much time with me! She keeps making up stories to tear us apart!"

Well damn. Chloé was kinda impressed at how much of a dick move that was. Even at her worst, she hadn’t even thought about outing that crush. Well, not seriously.

She watched everyone else’s reactions, and saw everyone was pissed. Even the classmates who still believed Lila’s lies looked about ready to throwdown or make up a lie of their own to hide the fact that Marinette’s crush was the one truth she’d said ever.

Marinette herself looked like she was quickly cycling between rage, fear, and embarrassment. It was hard to tell what reaction would kick in first. Fight, flight, or freeze.

Then there was Adrien. There was a level of shock, but anyone could see the gears turning in his head. A debate between knowing that Lila is a liar who will say anything to get her way, and the fact that ‘Marinette has a crush on me’ makes a lot of things make sense.

Seeming to finally figure out what to say, Adrien went back to the Agreste Glare. Which honestly gave Chloé the creeps because it looked a little too ‘Gabriel’.

“Even if she does have a crush,” Adrien began. “She would still have no reason to be jealous. I’m not into you like that at all. You’re not even my type.”

“Bro, what even is your type?” Nino sighed.

“I told you,” he grinned, welcoming the distraction. “Someone dark haired, kind but determined, and with the ability to pick me up over their shoulder like a sack of flour!”

At that, Marinette made a sound that was somewhere between choking on her own spit and screaming. Probably because she did seem to fit those qualifications. Which Adrien also seemed to realize, judging by the color of his face.

“If I may,” Diamond said, gaining everyone’s attention. “Miss Dupain-Cheng’s case is one of many I am representing. There’s also your attempted defamation of Miss Couffaine, as you tried to get your reporter classmate to run a story on how she bullied and sabotaged you out of a job.”

Lila gave her first genuine expression, one of shock. Her gaze flicked to Alya, who only shrugged and slid away from her before glaring. Nino did the same. Rose made a show of getting up and standing arm-in-arm with her girlfriend.

“There’s more,” Diamond continued. “Jagged Stone is also putting the weight of his career behind the suit for the attempted defamation of his employee and honorary niece, along with a cease and desist order towards the stories you made up about him. Clara Nightengale is also suing for defamation as you claimed to have worked on her choreography without credit. The Heroes of Paris, Ladybug and Chat Noir, are also in on this. A defamation suit for implying that they would associate with someone like you, and a cease and desist to keep you from saying anything further. And another suit on blackmail and sexual harassment of Adrien Agreste, along with an accompanying restraining order. There’s a few more things that will be added on as we continue.”

The rest of the group began whispering again. Catching on. Marinette was right. Lila is a liar. They began to back away, panicking, muttering to themselves about how awful they were, how they need to apologize.

Of course, that was the moment Miss Bustier decided to enter the classroom.

“What’s going on here?” Miss Bustier asked.

“Hello,” Diamond greeted, walking over and offering a handshake. “My name’s Diamond Valor. I’m a lawyer representing several cases against your student, Miss Lila Rossi. I also have a subpoena for her school records.”

“Wha…” she trailed off, clearly bewildered. “Why?”

“One of the many accusations,” she clarified, handing her a paper, “is that Miss Rossi is forging documents regarding her medical files at school. Along with letters from her mother regarding said medical issues and her absences. I would ask for her mother’s contact information, but considering what I just said, I doubt the information on file is correct. I can find her information well enough through other avenues though.”

Miss Bustier’s hands trembled as she read the document. For a moment, Chloé wondered if it was fear. After all, the school could get sued as well for certain things. They weren’t going that far, as Chloé knew the school’s only failings were caused by either Lila’s manipulation, or her own habit of ‘don’t give me detention or my dad will fire you’. Something she’s stopped doing, though she also hasn’t done anything detention-worthy lately either.

However, Miss Bustier’s face wasn’t full of fear. It was full of fury. Righteous burning fury.

“I knew something was off about that ‘lying disease’,” Miss Bustier muttered. “I’ll get you what you need.”

“Lying disease?” Sabrina asked.

“Lila’s excuse for trying to get me expelled,” Marinette explained. “She claimed she framed me for cheating, assault, and theft due to a disease that makes her lie. Which was also another lie.”

“The teachers have been talking about it since that happened,” Miss Bustier sighed. “We were debating over whether to warn the students and avoid another situation like Marinette’s near-expulsion, or to keep it quiet as not to alienate Lila through the distrust that would occur. We had finally settled on taking the students aside individually, but between this and most of the suspicions raised in the meetings, I’d say you have a case.”

Huh. So Operation: Burn the Witch might not have been entirely necessary. Well, at least not when it came to getting more people to believe Marinette. If they’d waited, then everyone would believe her when she said that Lila lied, even if they all thought it was just a disease and not malicious intent.

Some small part of Chloé was taking satisfaction in watching Lila’s kingdom of lies crumble around her. Perhaps not a small part. But still. The way the girl was panicking, looking around and trying to think of a way to spin this where she came out on top.

Then the whispers turned to screams, and Chloé looked up to find a familiar purple Butterfly hovering in the air.

It flitted around, debating on its target. There was so much emotion in the room. Fury, fear, guilt, panic. The Butterfly couldn’t decide who it wanted to infect, and most people were frozen.

Marinette and Adrien were both edging toward the door. Meanwhile, everyone else from ‘Operation: Burn the Witch’ is looking for something to catch the Butterfly in. But of course, that was the one thing they’d forgotten. Damn it!

The Butterfly seemed to decide on its target, fluttering closer to Mylène. Of course it would choose her. Mylène was usually the most terrified, and that outweighed everyone else’s emotions.

Mylène backed up, not wanting to be Akumatized again. Almost everyone else prepared to run. Except for Chloé. She carefully crept forward, until the Butterfly was in arms reach, and snatched it out of the air.

Everyone gasped, waiting for her to turn. Yet nothing happened. The Butterfly stayed in her hands, tickling against her palms in a way that made her want to squirm in an attempt to get free. As she had no rings for it to possess, and it couldn’t sink into her body directly, it was trapped.

“Good,” Chloé said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Now we just have to wait for Ladybug to-“

Without warning, something tackled her to the ground. Her instincts said ‘Akuma’, despite the Butterfly still in her hands. She did her best to fight off the attacker without releasing it, but gave up after the first few swings went awry and she was nearly pinned.

Unclasping her hands and throwing a punch, she managed to knock her attacker off-balance enough to get her knee up and into their stomach, before flipping both of them around and pinning her attacker instead.

Chloé’s brain caught up with her just in time to see Lila’s grin as the Butterfly sank into her bracelet.

* * *

Across the city, Hawkmoth stood in his lair and debated about recalling the Butterfly.

Due to the things he had learned about Miss Rossi over the weekend, he did not want to work with her. Despite her potential usefulness. While Hawkmoth was a Supervillain, he did still have some lines he refused to cross.

His plan had been to make the Butterfly avoid her, going after one of the others. That rainbow-haired one was a particularly good candidate. Her previous time as Horrificator had been going well until that infuriating Ladybug had found a weakness.

Yet, Miss Rossi had forced his hand. If he recalled the Butterfly now, someone would question why. And though the reason could be guessed, ‘Hawkmoth’ shouldn’t know of Miss Rossi’s crimes. But ‘Gabriel’ would.

One last Akumatization for her then. Something not too powerful, but potentially useful. And should she try anything he deemed ‘too far’, well, he could always recall the Butterfly anyway.

“Revealer, I am Hawkmoth. Your lies have been outed, but you are not the only one who has told falsehoods. Use your newfound powers to force them out of your opponents.”

* * *

Adrien had thought they were safe when Chloé trapped the Butterfly. Then Lila tackled her. He’d been too in shock to help, as had everyone else. By the time Lila had gotten that glowing mask on her face, he’d been ready to run.

That was when Marinette had grabbed him and tossed him over her shoulder, then sprinted out the door and down the hall. Just like that, he was frozen again. This time for a different reason. He’d meant it when he said he ‘liked someone who could carry him over their shoulder like a sack of flour’, but he hadn’t expected it to be taken so literally!

“Mari I can walk!” Adrien said, once he remembered to speak.

“I know you can, you dumb cat!” Marinette snapped, finally finding an empty classroom. “I just wanted to yell at you for a minute before you ran off!”

“I know I screwed up with Lila,” he said as she finally put him down. “I already figured that out when I realized she was trying to actually harm people but I never thought she would actively get Akumatized out of spite! But can you yell at me later because I really need to-“

“No,” she replied. “Because I’m not going to get through this fight if I have to pretend I don’t know. Of all the stupid ways you could’ve told me who you are, you chose that? Really?”

Wait, did she know he was Chat Noir? She called him a ‘dumb cat’, she had to! But how? What did he say? He didn’t think he said anything about Chat, or even anything Chat had said before around Marinette. Had he?

“Well say something, kitty,” Marinette sighed.

“How?” Adrien asked. “How did you figure it out.”

“You describing your ‘type’,” she said. “You said that whole thing to me on Saturday.”

“I… didn’t see you Saturday,” he said. “I did say that Saturday, but I said it to…”

Oh.

Oh!

OH FUCK!

Adrien.exe has stopped working. Please reboot.

“First of all, you were right, that is a dumb reveal,” Adrien said. “Secondly, now I get why you had been so scared to talk to Alya as Ladybug since she already didn’t believe you. Thirdly, I’m completely scrapping that list of ‘people not allowed to be Akumatized’ because you are now absolutely in the number one spot! What the FUCK?!”

“Yeah that’s how I felt,” Marinette (Ladybug!!!) sighed. “And there’s no way I was going to be able to go into the fight without talking about this!”

“And how am I supposed to fight knowing this?” he wondered. “I’m going to be hella distracted knowing two of the most amazing girls I know are somehow the same girl!”

Instead of answering, she moved forward, grabbed his face, and kissed him.

Adrien.exe has stopped working again. Please reboot and pray that no further crashing occurs.

“Now I’m really distracted,” Adrien said.

“Sorry!” Marinette said. “I should’ve asked but you said that and- uh, well. The first time Lila ever told the truth was about that, you know. Crush on you thing. That’s why no one believed me about Lila. They thought I was just jealous. But I do actually like you and finding out you’re Chat just… It kinda made me like you more and I thought you were saying the same thing with ‘two of the most amazing girls I know’ and-“

This time it was his turn to cut her off with a kiss.

Marinette.exe has crashed. Goddamn it you two.

“Now that we’re both distracted,” Adrien said, “We have an Akuma to fight, Bugaboo.”

She nodded, a goofy smile on her face which made Adrien want to kiss her again. But the pair managed to pull together.

“Tikki, Spots On!”

“Plagg, Claws Out!”

Watching Marinette transform into Ladybug really made it sink in. He had found her, and she’d been right by his side the entire time. His ‘Everyday Ladybug’, his Princess, his Lady. He wanted to kiss her again, but the sound of screams from the courtyard caught his attention.

Chat Noir and Ladybug raced out of the room, pushing though students running in the other direction. Most gave them room to move, but Chat seriously debated about trying to take a detour out a window.

Getting to the courtyard, they found a strange sight. Not Lila, though the Akuma did look pretty noticeable. It was pretty much just Lila, but in a bright orange, purple and black ballgown. It might fit in a Halloween party, especially with the mask, but here it just looked… extra in a bad way.

The strange thing, however, was the students who surrounded her and were ready to fight.

Chloé had a yardstick in one hand, and a toy replica of Ladybug’s yoyo in the other. Alya had also grabbed a yardstick, though she was holding hers like a baton while Chloé’s grip was more sword-like.

Nino had grabbed a trashcan lid as a shield. Kim had a broom, Max was throwing various projectiles, and Alix was using… an umbrella? And though Juleka didn’t have a weapon, she was sneaking around, trying to stay behind Revealer and out of her peripheral vision.

Oh. Huh. Of course Ladybug had chosen her friends to fight beside her. He would’ve done the same. Technically he had, trying to get Ladybug to bring Multimouse back (which was now understandable since it’s Marinette!), and then settling on Juleka.

Looking closer at the Akuma, it seemed as if she had seen them too.

“Ladyjerk and Bitch Noir, glad you could-ack!” Lila was cut off by Chloé’s toy yoyo hitting her face.

“Her name is Revealer,” Alya shouted, jumping in to hit with her yardstick. “She makes you tell the truth!”

“Total dick move, considering what just happened in class,” Kim yelled, whacking Revealer with a broom.

“Will you assholes knock it off?!” Revealer shouted, swiping at the broom, only to be hit by an eraser.

“Nope!” Alix shouted. “You’re just salty because you won the award for biggest jackass in the universe! So your ‘trophy’ is us kicking your ass!”

“And you know it’s true,” Max said, throwing a marker, “because your power makes us tell the truth.”

“Shut up!” Revealer shouted, a wave of energy knocking them back. “Ladybug and Chat Noir! Tell me who you are!”

“Your worst fucking nightmare!” Chat shouted, jumping into the fight.

“The one who’s going to take you down!” Ladybug added, swinging her yoyo.

“What are your names?” Revealer asked.

“Chat Noir!” Chat said, taking a swing with his baton.

“Ladybug!” Ladybug said, attempting to tangle Revealer in her yoyo.

“Tell me your real names!” Revealer demanded.

“That is my real name!” Ladybug said.

“The names we give ourselves are real!” Chat growled, remembering Lila’s comments at the photoshoot.

Revealer let out a scream of frustration. If she wanted to find their identities, she’d have to be more specific. They couldn’t just not answer, as her Magic made a response come forth. If she began to ask things like ‘your civilian name’ or something, she might get closer.

Well then. They just had to shut her up first!

Right when Ladybug and Chat Noir were preparing to attack again, Juleka jumped in. They had completely forgotten she was there until she hopped on Revealer’s back.

The pair wrestled for a moment, Revealer having superior strength, but Juleka having the advantage or surprise. Eventually, Revealer managed to grab Juleka and throw her off, but not before she managed to grab the bracelet off her wrist.

Revealer seemed to realize that, and moved to run after her, but Juleka ripped the bracelet, releasing the Butterfly. Ladybug snapped it up before Revealer could get her hands on it.

“Bye-bye, little Butterfly!”

As Revealer turned back into Lila, she quickly tied up by Ladybug’s yoyo. She squirmed, but couldn’t break out of it.

“Hey, I’m not Akumatized anymore!” Lila whined. “You don’t have to tie me up!”

“You’re waiting until the cops get here,” Ladybug said. “We have witnesses that saw you fight someone over the chance to get Akumatized.”

“I wasn’t!” she lied. “Chloé was the one who grabbed the Butterfly! She was probably upset that you won’t give her the Bee Miraculous again!

“Save it,” Chloé scoffed. “Everyone knows I would never get willingly Akumatized over that, despite how much I miss Pollen.”

“We also know you’re a liar,” Chat said. “And we trust literally everyone here more than you.”

“Oh fuck,” Nino said, dropping his trashcan shield. “I just remembered. That day Lila tried to get Mari expelled. Didn’t Hawkmoth try to do the whole Scarlet Moth thing that day? He had to know that was going down to do that, right?”

“He does,” Ladybug mused. “Hadn’t thought of it because of everything else that happened. I wouldn’t put it past her to actually be working with Hawkmoth himself. But even if it’s a coincidence, I think she’s too dangerous to remain in Paris.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The trail will be written eventually.   
> I definitely gotta think of lawyer names other than 'Tatt Turdock' though. Because 'Diamond Valor' was a placeholder name I got attached to. 
> 
> And yes I did get a little extra salty toward a certain thing right at the end.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Shows up for the finale several weeks later with one and a half cameo OCs* Hey y'all!
> 
> Also please remember that my only court experience is the first Ace Attorney game, Legally Blonde, and a handful of court-related episodes from shows, so this is 100% made up as far as how court is supposed to act. My in-universe justification is because of the ... interruption near the end.

Diamond Valor adjusted her scarf. It was a beautiful silk one, white with a purple stripe, a gift from her sister-in-law. And it was her own ‘good luck charm’. She never went to a case without it.

She had one hell of a case in front of her today. And despite seeing the evidence of how guilty the accused was, she felt a little nervous. The defense attorney, Beryl Verity, was one of the best, even when defending a case she would lose, she did everything she could. Looking though the files again, Valor assured herself that she would win this case.

Looking at the crowd also showed the case was in her favor. On her side of the courtroom were several people who would provide witness testimony. On the other side, there was only one woman behind the defendant and the lawyer. The defendants mother.

Valor honestly felt a bit sorry for Mrs. Rossi, as she seemed like a decent person. The woman seemed to be in a state of deep disassociation, brought on by the realization of what all her daughter had done. She wouldn’t be much of a witness, as she looked too out of it to even speak. Thankfully, with all gathered evidence, it was unnecessary.

With the Judge finally behind his desk, he gave the lawyers the floor for their opening statements. There wasn’t a jury for this, which Valor found a little odd. But it was probably because several high-profile people were involved, even through lies. It tainted the jury pool, and even if it didn’t, those high-profile people would want as little of this trial to get out as possible.

“Good morning,” Valor greeted. “Today we are here to discuss the trial of one Lila Rossi. She stands accused of defamation, blackmail, sexual harassment, forging of official documents, and endangerment of her peers. Through video evidence and witness testimony, we will prove that she is guilty, without a doubt.”

Then, it was Verity’s turn. She noticed as Verity adjusted her own ‘good luck charm’, a bracelet her daughter made in kindergarten. Seemed like she was just as nervous about this case.

“Your Honor,” Verity addressed. “My client pleads innocent. These accusations are just that. Accusations. Concocted by my client’s classmates out of pettiness and jealousy. That is all.”

Valor had to give her credit. Verity did almost sound like she believed that.

“Very well,” The Judge said. “According to you, the first charges discussed are the defamation suits. May I ask why these are grouped together in your files?”

“Due to the fact that many of the suits are from high-profile people,” Valor began, “They could not be here personally. However, the evidence was gathered by a few people, and one was chosen to represent them in the questioning and cross-examinations for their suits. The other two are here, and can give their own testimony.”

There was some nodding from the judge, and then the first ‘witness’ was brought up to the stand and sworn in. Chloé Bourgeois looked professional, but the gold accents to her outfit was very eye-catching.

“Can you explain to me,” Verity began, “Why a teenager was chose to represent so many high-profile people?”

“Gladly,” Chloé grinned. “One of the groups pursuing the case against Lila Rossi are Paris’s Heroes. Neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir could appear in person today for various reasons. They chose me to represent the Team, as my identity as Queen Bee is known, along with the fact that my father is the mayor, and that my friends and I were the ones who gathered evidence for this case. Other clients suing Lila Rossi who could not come in person decided it would be best to follow the Heroes’ lead and allow me to speak for them, since I already gathered their testimony.”

Valor almost laughed at the expressions that Verity and the Judge gave. It seems neither of them had expected as coherent an answer.

“First on the list,” Valor said, attempting to cover her laughter. “Lila Rossi’s claims that she developed tinnitus saving Jagged Stone’s cat from a runway, that he wrote a song for her as thanks, and that they hang out all the time. Miss Bourgeois?”

“It’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous,” Chloé said. “I have video of Jagged admitting he doesn’t know Lila, and that the only song he’s written about anyone is Ladybug, the Hero. And I’m sure Mrs. Valor has gotten a hold of Lila’s medical records, which will show no tinnitus.”

It went like that for a while. The Judge would read off accusations of what Lila had said, and Chloé would gesture to her recordings and the medical records, which would be played or read off respectively. They went through Jagged Stone, then Clara Nightengale, even Prince Ali of Achu, and a few others. Before they even got to Ladybug and Chat Noir, the Judge stopped them.

“I think I’ve seen enough,” The Judge said. “Mrs. Verity, your cross-examination?”

“With pleasure,” Verity said. “Miss Bourgeois, how exactly were you able to contact so many celebrities and even foreign royals?”

“Easy,” Chloé said. “Jagged stays at my dad’s hotel when in Paris, in the suite next to the one I live in. We’re neighborly, especially because his pet crocodile likes me. Through him I contacted most of these people. Of course, Ladybug and Chat Noir came to me. And my friend Rose is the one who contacted Prince Ali, as she befriended him while he was in Paris.”

“Interesting,” she mused. “And how exactly does your friend know Prince Ali?”

“Well-“ Chloé started to say.

“Objection,” Valor interjected. “Relevance?

“This case hinges on my client having lied about her connections,” Verity said. “How are we to know that your witness aren’t lying either?”

“We can call up the celebrities again if needed,” she replied. “And you can run whatever software on the video to see if it’s edited. All you need to know is that Miss Lavillant is in contact with Prince Ali. How they met is not relevant.”

“Sustained,” the Judge said.

“Alright then,” Verity nodded. “In that case, while you have contacted celebrities that my client has supposedly lied about, do you have proof that she has ever claimed these things?”

“Naturally,” Chloé grinned, a little too happy to say it. “Mrs. Valor, I believe I gave you that recording too?”

With a nod, Valor pulled up another video. This one was of Lila giving an interview to Alya about her ‘many adventures’ and ‘all the friends she made in her travels’. As the video went on, she could see Lila’s expression grow more and more furious.

“I believe that sums it up,” The Judge said. “Any more questions, Mrs. Verity?”

“Yes,” Verity said. “See, I have to ask why this is a case. True, my client may have told stories like this. But there are millions of teenagers who claim to know important people. I remember quite a few stories from my school friends about their ‘uncle who works at Nintendo’. And in today's age of ‘real-person fanfic’, how is this warranting of a defamation suit?”

“My next witness can answer that,” Valor said.

Within seconds, Chloé was off the stand and the next witness was being sworn in. For some reason, the glare Lila was giving was one of betrayal. From what Valor had heard of the detailed drama that wasn’t entirely related to the case, it was understandable.

“Miss Cesaire,” Verity addressed, looking over the girl as if she were trying to recall something. “What light can you shed on the subject I asked before?”

“I, uh, run a blog,” Alya said. “The Ladyblog, for all news related to the Heroes, Villains, and the Miraculous.”

“Ah, yes,” she nodded. “That’s why you look familiar.”

“Continuing on,” Valor said. “Miss Cesaire, did Miss Rossi give you her ‘stories’ to post on your blog?”

“Yes,” Alya said. “I only posted the first one about her being Ladybug’s friend, because my blog’s focus is on that. But she kept asking me to interview her about everything else she supposedly did. Or about things happening at school, like her accusations about Marinette ‘bullying’ her, or Juleka ‘getting her fired’.”

“I still don’t quite get your point,” Verity said. “A teenage blogger really isn’t much different than the point I made about ‘real-person fanfic’.”

“You already admitted to recognizing her,” Valor pointed out. “You must use the blog sometimes.”

“Though I’m an amateur,” Alya said, as Verity pondered that. “The Ladyblog is different. After Ladybug herself endorsed my blog and began coming to me for most news updates, it took off. People consider my blog a legitimate news source. Lila asking me to post her stories would do just as much damage as if she went to the TVi news station and had someone there run it.”

Verity contemplated that. It could be argued that the Ladyblog is technically still an amateur teenager’s project and not a news source, but considering Verity had already admitted that she paid enough attention to the Ladyblog to recognize Alya, it was unlikely she would try it. Still, Valor didn’t relax.

“Can you tell me why you posted that story?” Verity asked. “After all, you say Ladybug comes to you. Couldn’t you have asked her for proof that Miss Rossi was telling the truth?”

“I… made the mistake,” Alya admitted. “I got ahead of myself and assumed it was true before checking. However, I have owned up to the mistake like any reporter should if they ran a story with false information. I retracted the story and posted a correction, though I haven’t been allowed to give full details yet because of the case.”

“That’s good,” she said. “However, considering you added to Miss Rossi’s efforts, could you say-“

“Objection!” Valor exclaimed. “Miss Cesaire is not the one on trial.”

“Maybe not,” Verity said. “But if my client is on trial for telling stories to a news source, shouldn’t the news source also be on trial? Especially considering the story about being Ladybug’s close friend could have endangered my client?”

“Miss Cesaire was manipulated by your client,” she replied, ignoring the way Alya paled at ‘endangered’. “Miss Rossi endangered herself by claiming to anyone who would listen that she was Ladybug’s friend, and encouraging Miss Cesaire to post it, along with her other stories. Furthermore, given that she retracted the story and helped gather evidence against Miss Rossi, Ladybug and Chat Noir have decided not to pursue a case against her as well.”

“Sustained,” the Judge decided. “Mrs. Verity, it is your client on trial. Miss Cesaire’s actions can be addressed if the Heroes decide to press charges.”

While Verity frowned, the next witness was called up to the stand. Valor knew this one would be short, as it was a smaller list of crimes.

“Miss Couffaine,” Verity said. “Could you tell us about that photoshoot? According to Miss Rossi, you sabotaged it to steal her job.”

“I would never!” Juleka exclaimed. “I didn’t even do anything that day!”

“Could you elaborate on that?” Valor said. “While I have witness statements from the photographer, if you would like to tell your own side?”

Juleka nodded, but hesitated. Nerves seemed to be getting to her. Especially with the way Lila seemed to be glaring, as if the girl was attempting to bore a hole right through her with vision alone.

Movement caught the eyes of several people. The girl Juleka had been sitting next to before being called up was waving. Valor didn’t remember the girl’s name, but she remembered the ridiculous amount of pink the girl wore(which was saying something considering Valor’s own pink pantsuit). And encouraging smile from her, and Juleka seemed to be able to breathe again.

“I was offered the modeling job after Adrien recommended me,” Juleka said. “While I was looking forward to modeling with him again, I did know that Lila was a liar who was harassing him, so I also took the job to help give him a way out when he was feeling uncomfortable.”

“So you sabotaged the shoot to help your friend?” Verity asked.

“No!” she insisted. “At worst I was planning on saying he looked uncomfortable and asking what was wrong to get her to back off a little, but I never had to say anything. The photographer, Cecilia, she kept stopping the shoot because Lila wasn’t following directions. Eventually she told Lila to take a few minutes to cool down, and Lila walked off set. She only used me because Lila refused to cooperate and then disappeared. I had no control over that!”

“This is backed up by the photographer’s testimony,” Valor said. “We can call her up if necessary.”

Verity sighed and took the defeat. Another round of switching witnesses. Now it was Valor’s turn to sigh. This would be a little longer. Somehow the intensity of Lila’s glare had gone up. Valor was no longer sure that there wouldn’t be able to set something on fire with that look.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng,” Verity addressed. “According to my client, you’re the ringleader in all this.”

“I’m not,” Marinette stated. “When Lila began lying to my friends, all I wanted was to show them that she was lying to keep them from being taken advantage of. Lila saw this as a threat, convinced people I was acting out of jealousy, and then began to try ruining my reputation with my friends, my school, and even future career choices.”

“What exactly were you jealous of?” she wondered.

“I wasn’t jealous,” she countered. “But I did have a crush on Adrien, the boy that Lila was harassing. So when I saw through her lies, she used that to make it look like that was why I didn’t like her. When I told her I wouldn’t pretend to be her friend, she began claiming I had done and said things because of that. Which made people believe that I had. After she got a job modeling for Gabriel Agreste, she fed him lies about how I was a bad influence on his son, Adrien. Given that I'm an aspiring designer, spite from such a big name as Gabriel Agreste would kill my career before it started."

“That it could,” Valor said. “Please testify about what happened when Miss Rossi attempted to get you expelled.”

Anyone could see the rage and fear on her face. While Marinette took a breath, Valor took a short glance at Verity. Despite her neutral expression, her eyes revealed her true feelings. She knew the outcome of this trial, knew her client was guilty, but was determined to see it through. Very few things would make her give up a trial.

“One day,” Marinette began, “Lila stole an answersheet and put it in my backpack before telling the teacher I had cheated on the test. We argued and were sent to the principal’s office, and on the way, she walked down the stairs and began screaming that I pushed her. After that, she claimed I had stolen her necklace, and had already planted the necklace in my locker earlier in the day.”

“And what proof do you have that my client did this?” Verity asked. “Assuming we can believe you about the stairs incident, do you have proof that she planted the test answers and the necklace?

“We do, actually,” Valor said. “Miss Rossi confessed to it later in the day, and that is on the school record. She claimed-“

“I was threatened!” Lila shouted, fake tears springing from her eyes.

“As my client stated,” Verity said, giving Lila a look to tell her to be quiet, “I object to that evidence. She was threatened into saying it.”

“Whether or not she was threatened into confessing, she still did it,” Valor stated. “That is what we are discussing. And as I was saying, she doesn’t have any ‘lying disease’. Her medical records are clear, and even if she did have an undiagnosed disorder that caused her to compulsively lie, planting evidence implies premeditation, not an on-the-spot-compulsion.”

“But-“ Lila began.

“My client was threatened into saying it was a lie,” Verity cut her off. “According to her, Miss Dupain-Cheng did do the things she was accused of, but Miss Rossi was threatened into taking back her accusations. She came up with the lying disease because it did the job and kept her from facing consequences for Miss Dupain-Cheng’s actions.”

“Then answer one question,” Valor said. “Why did Miss Rossi not seek medical attention after her fall? Supposedly, she fell down the stairs, walked around the school, walked to the park for a photoshoot with Adrien Agreste, and then called a meeting the next day to confess. Had she truly fallen down the stairs, she should have been checked out by a doctor at any point before the supposed threat took place.”

Well, Verity didn’t have an answer to that. Neither did Lila, for that matter. Valor now had that glare trained on her, though she met the stare. Despicable as she was, Valor had faced scarier foes than Lila Rossi.

“Given this information,” The Judge said, breaking up the staring contest, “I declare Lila Rossi guilty on all accounts of defamation. We will discuss your sentencing after the rest of the accusations have been decided. Next is the forging of documents, I believe?”

There was even more switching of witnesses, this time accompanied by a shuffling of papers as Valor and Verity got their evidence and case notes in order. By the time she looked up again, Valor was a little relieved to see an adult on the stand.

“Miss Bustier,” Valor addressed. “As Miss Rossi’s schoolteacher, she gave you quite a bit of paperwork. Can you tell us what all was in this paperwork?”

“It was supposed to be her mother’s contact information,” Miss Bustier said. “There were also several doctor’s notes about disabilities and injuries, and emails from her mother about vacations.”

“And were any of these legitimate?” she wondered.

“No,” she shook her head and sighed. “The phone number was Lila’s, and the email was a fake she created so we couldn’t contact her mother. Her doctors notes are forged as well.”

“Speaking of,” she said, picking up a file. “I’ve taken the liberty of subpoenaing Miss Rossi’s real medical files. Despite Miss Rossi’s file at school listing several injuries and disabilities such as arthritis and tinnitus, along with her ‘lying disease’, her medical file lists her last doctor visit was nearly a year ago for a general checkup where she received a clean bill of health. The only injury listed is a broken arm from when she was six.”

“Mrs. Verity,” The Judge said. “Would you like to cross-examine the witness?”

“Yes,” Verity sighed. “Miss Bustier, did you have any doubts about Miss Rossi’s papers?”

“Not entirely,” Miss Bustier admitted. “When we couldn’t call her mother, we assumed it was because of her work schedule. And with Lila creating the fake email and pretending to be her mother responding to those, we thought we had been in contact. I was even keeping what I thought was her mother updated on school assignments and Lila’s grades when I was sent an email about them being out of town, which I now know was a lie as well.”

“And the doctor’s notes?” she asked. “Did you ever suspect her of faking her illnesses?”

“The notes looked legitimate enough,” she said. “There were times when I wondered, but I know arthritis has good days and bad days, so I didn’t feel right judging her as faking just because she seemed to be doing well. Most of the teachers were suspicious of her lying disease but…”

“How suspicious?” she wondered.

“As Mrs. Valor said,” she began, “a compulsive liar would be making things up on the spot, but planting evidence was premeditated. We discussed warning the students, but were going to look further into it. Then all of this happened and confirmed our suspicions for us.”

“No further questions,” Verity sighed.

As Lila was declared guilty again, and the next trial over harassment and blackmail began, Valor stole another look. Lila was still glaring, but in between that, she kept looking around for something. Behind her, Mrs. Rossi was crying again.

Valor felt another pang of pity. If everything else had weighed on her, this part would hurt more.

“Mr. Agreste,” Valor said. “I know this might be difficult, but please testify about your experiences with Miss Rossi.”

“I… I tried to be her friend,” Adrien said, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “I thought her lies were just her wanting friends, so I tried to show her she could have friends without lying. But she wasn’t happy being ‘just friends’. It never went too- too far. But she would cling to me, touch my arms and chest a lot. She even surprised me with a kiss, which she took a picture of and sent to my entire contact list.”

As much as Valor internally cringed, she did hit a button to make that piece of evidence show up on screen. Several people in the room, especially Adrien, also cringed upon seeing it.

“Did you tell her to stop?” Valor asked.

“She would say it was how she showed affection with friends,” Adrien shuddered slightly. “Then she’d point out that Chloé is just as touchy, and the people around us would agree with her. But Chloé is a friend who’s practically my sister hugging me and leaning on me casually, not a liar I barely knew f-feeling me up. And Chloé would stop if I asked her to.”

“So,” Verity said. “Tell us about the blackmail.”

“What?!” Lila shouted. “You’re supposed to be defending me you-!”

“Quiet!” she glared. “I may be here to defend you, but after that testimony, along with Miss Couffaine’s testimony and the witness statements from that photographer, I am not going to ask him if he ‘actually enjoyed the attention’, no matter how much you insist he did.”

There was another sob from Mrs. Rossi, but Lila remained quiet, sulking and looking around. Verity took a moment to recompose herself before gesturing for Adrien to answer her question.

“Right,” Adrien said. “Uh, the whole blackmail thing. After Lila got Marinette expelled, I told her I’d stay quiet about what she was doing and pretend to be her friend as long as she left Marinette and everyone else alone.”

“Technically,” Verity said. “It could be said that you were the one blackmailing her. You proposed the deal and threatened to out her crimes unless she did what you wanted.”

“Objection,” Valor said, not even bothering to shout anymore. “Whether or not Mr. Agreste made the offer, Miss Rossi is the one with all the power. She is the one committing her crimes in the first place, and the deal with Mr. Agreste gives her all of the power. He complies, and he is harassed while his friends are manipulated. He acts out and ends the deal, his friend is expelled again. It could also be argued that while he was the one to offer a deal, Miss Rossi was attempting to coerce him into doing so by showing what she could do if he didn't stay quiet about her. Had he leveraged her for money, or if he was the one committing the harassment, then you would have another story."

Verity opened her mouth to reply, but saw it as a lost cause. The Judge quickly declared Lila guilty, and started listing out her sentences. Deported back to Italy, juvenile detention until she was an adult, with a chance for probation once she turned eighteen, and mandatory therapy. Unfortunate, but part of the system for underage children.

It was odd though. Didn’t the judge say that her sentencing would wait until all cases are resolved? Yet, the man was already getting up to leave.

“Where are you going?” Verity asked, voicing what Valor had been thinking.

“My part is done,” The Judge said.

“But there’s still another accusation,” Valor frowned.

“Not my jurisdiction!” he shouted, quickly making his way down from his stand and toward the door.

As the door closed behind him, Valor and Verity just stared at one another, equally confused. ss were the rest of the witnesses. It was probably the first time Valor had seen an expression from Lila that wasn’t fury or fake sadness.

Then, the judge’s stand seemed to catch on fire. That got everyone to jump, and quite a few of them to swear. Two in particular looked ready to bolt out of the room. When the flames subsided, someone was sitting in the judge’s chair. A woman with a lot of red hair, bright green eyes, and a grin that was a little too sharp.

“Hey there Valor, Verity,” the woman greeted.

“Oh no,” Valor groaned. “I should’ve known.”

“That’s it!” Verity said, walking over to Valor's side of the courtroom. “I quit!”

“What the fuck!?” Lila shouted, ignoring her mother’s half-assed attempt to reign in her language. “You can’t just quit!”

“Look kid,” she shouted back. “I’ll defend a lot of things as part of my job. Even if I know my client is guilty, I have to do it. But when the Dragon Witch of Paris gets involved? No. I’m done!”

“Dragon Witch of Paris?” Adrien asked.

“Do you know what that means?” Juleka wondered.

“No idea,” Marinette said.

“Really?” Chloé gave her a look. “How have you not heard of her?”

“I think she comes into the bakery sometimes?” she offered.

“No, I mean,” she shook her head. "Nevermind."

“Mrs. Valor,” Miss Bustier addressed. “You seem to know what’s going on.

Valor sighed. Dealing with this was a headache. Enough of a headache that Valor completely understood Verity’s decision to give up. Now that the Dragon Witch was involved, the trial was pretty much over.

“Magic Rules require Magic Law,” Valor said. “And Ariel Rinn, the Dragon Witch of Paris, is part of Magic Law.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” Rose asked.

“Let me try,” Chloé said. “You know how in Harry Potter there was an entire hidden world of Magic governed by the Ministry of Magic? And the Minister of Magic sometimes interacted with the Prime Minister of England when Magic stuff got involved in Muggle stuff?”

“You’re explaining this with Harry Potter?” Alya gave her a look.

“It works,” she shrugged. “There’s more complicated things because Magic Law is a bit different from Mortal Law and honestly, I don’t know all of the details on that. I only know what I managed to drag out of my dad after eavesdropping on some things in his office.”

“What does that mean for the case?” Marinette asked.

“That it’s out of our hands,” Verity sighed. “Which is exactly why I quit. You can’t lie to the Dragon Witch.”

“You don’t lie, Verity,” Valor said.

“I might not,” she agreed. “But my clients do. You’ve proved that well enough.”

“So!” Ariel said, twirling a gavel. “You ready to do this or what?”

Sighing, Valor adjusted her scarf again. Maybe her sister-in-law’s gift wasn’t so lucky after all. Lila was brought up to the witness stand this time.

“Lila Rossi stands accused of aiding a supervillain,” Valor said.

“I plead not guilty!” Lila said. “I would never help Hawkmoth!”

“We have several witnesses,” she said. “All of your classmates, your teacher, and even myself saw you grab the Butterfly.”

“I can understand how it might seem that way,” she said. “But Chloé was going for it. I thought she was taking it and wanted to give my friends time to escape!”

“What friends?” Ariel asked. “Not to be rude, but you lied to, manipulated, bullied and harassed all of the people in that room. I don’t think you, as you are now, could call them friends. And I doubt they thought the same.”

Lila frowned at her, probably wondering how Ariel knew about what happened. On the other hand, Valor had learned long ago not to question her. Ariel knew many things. Hell, Valor wouldn’t be surprised if she knew the identities of the various Heroes and Villains running around, though even thinking about why she wouldn’t have done something yet is a different headache entirely.

“Miss Bourgeois?” Ariel said. “You don’t have to switch to the witness stand, just answer the question. Why did you go after the Butterfly?”

“Because know how to contain them,” Chloé answered. “Hawkmoth’s Butterflies can’t go through solid objects, so a jar or something would’ve been better, but we didn’t have one. The Butterflies can only Akumatize you if they find an object to possess. They can’t sink directly into your body. So grabbing one and holding it in your hands or in your mouth, which I will not be trying by the way, is safe as long as you don’t wear any jewelry it can get to.”

“How was I supposed to know that?” Lila scoffed. “All I saw was you grabbing the Butterfly!”

“Maybe because I didn’t get Akumatized when I did?” she snapped back. “I might not be allowed to be Queen Bee again, but I’m not going to let my Hero Status go to waste!”

“There’s also the fact,” Valor said, “That Miss Rossi was the one who ended up Akumatized, and was seemingly aware of her Akumatization after the fact. According to Ladybug, when someone returns to normal, they are usually very confused and disoriented, unable to remember what had happened.”

There were murmurings from the witnesses. Several of them had been Akumatized before. Even months later, there was no true recollection of their Akumatization. Flashes in dreams sometimes, but nothing solid.

“Another piece of evidence is Scarlet Moth,” Valor said. “Both times Hawkmoth has caused a Scarlet Moth event, he used you. The first on Heroes’ Day, where Volpina created an Illusion of an Akumatized Ladybug killing Chat Noir.”

“I wasn’t even in the country then!” Lila exclaimed.

“Yes, you were,” Mrs. Rossi whispered. “We haven’t left the city since we moved in.”

It was surprising to hear her speak. Even more surprising was the look of betrayal that Lila gave her mother. It wasn’t quite as full of hatred, but still annoyed that she wasn’t going along with the plan.

“Fine,” Lila huffed. “But that doesn’t mean I’m working for Hawkmoth! I was upset! He took advantage of that like he does with every other Akuma! Are you going to accuse them too?!”

“While we can’t prove if you willingly helped that day,” Valor said. “It is suspicious that the second time Scarlet Moth was involved was also because of you. Miss Bourgois, as the representative for the Miraculous Team, can you elaborate on how ‘Scarlet Moth’ works?”

“Gladly!” Chloé chirped. “Hawkmoth can usually only create one Akuma at a time. Scarlet Moth uses an Akuma to power him up, and then an event to cause many people to feel despair or rage. It’d be useless if he didn’t have a large number of potential victims”

“It is something that needs to be planned in advance,” she said. “So, when Miss Rossi framed Miss Dupain-Cheng to get her expelled, causing her classmates and teachers to feel rage and despair over the situation, how exactly did Hawkmoth know that it would happen?”

“Who knows,” Lila said. “Maybe he’s watching me. Waiting for me to get super upset before sending a Butterfly after me.”

“Is that why you keep looking around?” Verity interrupted, much to Valor’s surprise. “You’ve been looking for something ever since you started losing the trial.”

Lila glared at her, probably ready to give another ‘aren’t you supposed to be defending me?!’ speech. Before she could, she was cut off by the sound of a gavel.

“Proof enough for me,” Ariel said. “Now, while I could give what I think the sentence would be now, I think-“

“How about a deal!” Lila shouted.

“What deal?” Valor asked. “You’ve already gotten a guilty verdict on all accusations. What could you possibly offer?”

“Hawkmoth’s identity,” she said.

That caused quite a stir. The kids were whispering to each other, while the adults mostly looked horrified.

“Is this a confession?” Ariel asked.

“You already called me guilty,” Lila said. “Confessing doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I’m more interested in the fact that Hawkmoth told you who he was,” Valor said.

“He probably didn’t,” Verity mused. “But he had to contact her somehow to set up Scarlet Moth.”

“Exactly,” Lila said. “I give you a name, and you let me off with a light sentence.”

Ariel contemplated that. Or at least she seemed to. Her expression read less as ‘deciding to make a deal’ and more ‘huh, I’m hungry. I wonder if I have any frozen pizzas left at home?’.

“No deals this time,” Ariel declared.

“WHAT?!” Lila shouted. “You have the opportunity to find out who Hawkmoth is, and you don’t even take it?!”

“Miss Rossi,” she laughed. “This trial has proven that you are quite a liar. I can’t trust that the name you give would be honest instead of a last-ditch attempt to ruin someone’s reputation and disrupt their life. Given your past, you might accuse Miss Dupain-Cheng of being Hawkmoth! No, that wouldn’t be believable would it? Hm… I bet you were going to accuse Gabriel Agreste, weren’t you?”

There was another round of murmuring from the witnesses. Adrien looked sick at the thought, naturally. Lila’s face actually paled for a moment.

“H-how?” Lila asked.

“It makes sense,” she shrugged. “The kids over there exposed your lies and rejected you, and you want to get back at them. Now, none of them fit Hawkmoth, as he’s a grown man. Accusing one of their parents would be more believable, and Gabriel Agreste is the only adult male related to any of them that is close to the height and build seen in Hawkmoth’s few appearances. It would probably be easy to convince people he might be Hawkmoth just so you can get back at Adrien for rejecting you!”

“It’s not a lie!” she shouted. “He’s the one who told me to get Marinette expelled on that day!”

“Right,” she shook her head. “As I said, we can’t believe you. Even if you were to spill that information to the reporters outside the courthouse, the fact that you have lied about so many things puts your testimony into so much doubt that, if Gabriel Agreste were actually Hawkmoth, your accusations would make him look less suspicious! Everyone knows the story of 'the boy who cried wolf'!”

Lila seemed to be rendered completely speechless by that. Quite a feat, really. Though Ariel did tend to have that effect on people. Not that she noticed. No, she was just back to twirling the gavel like a cheerleading baton until it slipped out of her hand and flew across the room.

“Oops,” Ariel said. “Anyway, as for sentencing. While I could technically decide that myself, I made an agreement with someone else that Ladybug and Chat Noir would handle Miraculous matters, so they can decide what to do with her!”

“How do you want to get a hold of them?” Valor asked.

“Chase them down next Akuma attack?” Verity suggested.

“I can put a post on the Ladyblog?” Alya offered.

“As their representative in this trial,” Chloé began, “I believe I have the authority to speak for them. However, may I have a moment to discuss this with my, uh, colleagues?”

Ariel smiled and nodded, which let Chloé turn and huddle with Marinette and Adrien for some reason. They were talking to quietly for Valor to hear, but it looked serious. Both her ‘colleagues’ had a slight panic in their initial expressions.

After a few moments, they came to a decision of sorts. Chloé smoothed out her jacket, standing up and walking toward the judge’s stand.

“We have come to a decision,” Chloé stated. “Team Miraculous has decided to leave Lila Rossi to her fate.”

“What do you mean, exactly?” Ariel asked. “Remember, exact wording is good when dealing with Magic and Law, and especially Magic Law.”

“Lila is already facing punishment,” she said. “Deportation, juvie, a therapist, etcetera. Not to mention a loss of trust between her and her mother, along with anyone she has ever met or will ever meet once they find out about her past. There’s little we can think up that would be worse. She is out of our hair, and will no longer be a danger to matters involving the Miraculous”

“Interesting,” she grinned. “In that case, your team can rest easy knowing that all this is over.”

There was an audible sigh from the entire court as she hit the gavel that had somehow reappeared in her hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The OC cameos are Ariel from 'The Murder of Lila Rossi' and Beryl Verity is the mother of Isabelle from 'The Actress'. Ariel keeps appearing without my control she writes herself in. Though she got a slight name change due to current events.

**Author's Note:**

> Adrien being so close to a realization reminds me of that tweet that's like 'I have one foot in the darkness and the other in a Hello Kitty roller skate".


End file.
